Wilson Simonal

Artist: Wilson Simonal

LP: Alegria, Alegria - Vol. 3
Song: "Mustang Color Sangre"

[ listen ]

Song: "Muchacha"
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I carted off an exciting haul of vinyl from Beats and Bohos last week on my way home from breakfast in Edmonds with my old college chum, John, and his wife and their cute young daughter. Included in my bounty was this 1969 LP from Brazilian artist Wilson Simonal. According to Wikipedia, Simonal, who has been dead for nearly twenty years, was mostly unknown outside of South America. I can't speak for the rest of my continent, but this week he's certainly been a hot item on the playlist at a particular one-bedroom apartment in Seattle!

[ Wilson Simonal: February 23, 1938 — June 25, 2000 ]

Roberto Leal

Artist: Roberto Leal

LP: Roberto Leal

Song: "Viagem a Lisboa"

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I don't have time to say much about Roberto Leal except wow! (those jeans), holy cow! (that hair), and cool! (those glasses). And I really don't have time to mention that Roberto was named the most popular Portuguese person that people could think of in a recent Rio de Janeiro poll—he came in way ahead of Pedro Álvares Cabral and Luís de Camões—or to point out that Leal kinda' resembles what you'd end up with if you melted the entire cast of the "Land of the Lost" TV show into a single being. Photos from the back of Roberto Leal's 1976 self-titled LP are included below; you can read about him on Wikipedia here and go here to poke around his website.

 [ Roberto Leal, now-ish ]

Maria Pereira

Artist: Maria Pereira

LP: 7" single

Song: "Saber Esperar"

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Went for a walk into downtown Ballard last night during a rare Seattle snowstorm, then warmed myself at home with the melodious warblings of Portuguese singer Maria Pereira. I couldn't find much info about Maria on the web (unless she was a member of the Portuguese American Club and former president of the Women's Auxiliary and she died in November of 2010...but probably not.) Pereria is mentioned briefly in this blog post about a 1958 painter's manual that someone bought while "shopping completely absurd," but the English translation keeps referring to Maria Pereira as a "he." In any case, the liner notes from the back of this 4-track EP are included below.

ps. Happy 101st Birthday to actress Luise Rainer!

 

 

Osvaldinho da Cuíca e Grupo Vai-Vai

 Artist: Osvaldinho da Cuíca e Grupo Vai-Vai

LP: Vamos Sambar

Song: "Tá Assim de Mulher e Tá Chegando Mais"

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Song: "Cozinha"

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Born in 1940, Osvaldinho da Cuíca is one of the most popular names in samba in his native city of São Paulo. Unfortunately, this gifted singer and percussionist's name turns into "Osvaldinho the Opossum" when translated to English. Osvaldinho da Cuíca is still making wonderful music, as one can see in the video clip below, and the liner notes (in Portuguese) and a pretty sexy photo from the back of this 1975 LP are included below that.

Osvaldinho da Cuíca on YouTube:

[ "Esquentando a Frigideira" ]