Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19,
1982), popularly known as Elis Regina, was a Brazilian singer of popular and
Jazz music.
Elis Regina was one of the most ferociously talented
singers to emerge from Brazil. A perfectionist who was frequently dissatisfied,
Regina drove herself and members of her band relentlessly, leading to her being
dubbed "Hurricane" and "Little Pepper" by musicians and
journalists. Her tempestuous nature aside, she commanded the respect of
Brazil's leading songwriters, who lined up for the chance to have her record
one of their songs, and for much of her short life was the country's most
popular female vocalist.
Born Elis Regina Carvalho Costa in Porto Alegre in 1945
to a working-class family, Regina began singing professionally at age 12 on a
children's television show called Clube de Guri. For the next two years she was
a regular performer on the program and became a local celebrity. It was during
this period that she signed her first recording contract at the age of 13.
At 15 she
relocated to Rio de Janeiro, where she recorded the first of three records,
returning to Porto Alegre between each. Her initial recordings sold well and
she was soon a teenage star, as well as the family's principal breadwinner. In
1963, at the age of 18, Regina and her father, in a move designed to further
her career, relocated to Rio. Unfortunately, it was around this time that a
military junta took over control of the country.
Not long after her move to Rio, Regina became a fixture on Brazilian variety shows. Although the cool, supple, jazzy bossa nova sound was in vogue at the time, Regina preferred more raucous rhythms and full-throated singing. Adding to this was her dynamic, unsophisticated stage presence (which belied a career-long battle against near-paralytic stage fright) that, in American terms, might be best understood if one thinks of the tornado-like force that Janis Joplin could unleash.
Not long after her move to Rio, Regina became a fixture on Brazilian variety shows. Although the cool, supple, jazzy bossa nova sound was in vogue at the time, Regina preferred more raucous rhythms and full-throated singing. Adding to this was her dynamic, unsophisticated stage presence (which belied a career-long battle against near-paralytic stage fright) that, in American terms, might be best understood if one thinks of the tornado-like force that Janis Joplin could unleash.
Although not as overtly political as other
singer/songwriters of her generation (e.g., Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil),
Regina was not shy about criticizing Brazil's military rule. While touring
Europe in 1969 she told a journalist that her country was "being run by
guerrillas." Normally this sentiment would lead to either jail or exile,
but Regina's enormous popularity protected her somewhat from any public
government retaliation. However, the military junta used more insidious
strong-arm tactics, such as forcing her to sing the Brazilian national anthem
at a ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the country's
"independence." She was roundly attacked by leftist performers for
such a public display of pro-government sentiment, and it was years later that
her husband revealed that she was threatened with jail if she did not comply
with the government's wishes. As the mother of a young child at the time,
Regina could not afford to become a martyr.
Regina's career showed no signs of slowing as the 1970s
came to a close; some of her best records were recorded during this time, and
one album simply called Elis & Tom (recorded in Los Angeles with Antonio
Carlos Jobim) has been called by many journalists and musicians one of the
greatest Brazilian pop records ever made. However, while her career was in full
swing, her personal life was in disarray -- two marriages ended in divorce, and
she was raising three children as well as providing for her parents.
In the late '70s, after the end of her second marriage,
she began using cocaine regularly, but managed to keep her increasing
dependence on the drug well hidden from her friends and family. Regina began
1982 by marrying for a third time, signing a new recording contract, and in
general, planning for the future. All of this came to a halt on January 19,
1982, when she was found dead of alcohol and cocaine intoxication at age 36.
Initially, her death was rumoured to be a suicide, but there is no evidence
indicating that it was anything more than a tragic accident.
A few days after her death, a memorial concert was held
in São Paulo featuring many of Brazil's most famous singers. Over 100,000
grieving Brazilians came to pay their final respects to this gifted, mercurial
singer who remains as popular after death as she was in life.
(Artist Biography mainly by John Dougan @ AllMusic)
1 comment:
There is a 5CD box set that practically contains all the beautiful Elis Regina songs one could be searching for. Some 8000 subscribers of "Seleções" (released by the Brazilian branch of "Reader's Digest") and numerous musicians were asked beforehand what songs this compilation should include - a great idea, by the way! Each of the five CDs has a title or motto: CD 1: "Nasce Uma Estrela"; CD 2: "Elis Romântica" (com o samba É Com Esse Que Eu Vou...); CD 3: "Grandes Sucessos"; CD 4: "Sambas e Outras Bossas"; CD 5: "Elis Total". Thus, the songs are not just there but allocated in a way that they match. They are by such great composers as Nascimento, Gil, Lee, Jobim, Belchior, Bosco, Barroso, Lins, Lyra, etc.
For Elis Regina “Disc 3 – Grandes Sucessos” go here:
http://www76.zippyshare.com/v/R02Rf3QV/file.html
1.Aprendendo a Jogar
2.Casa no Campo
3.Fascinação
4.Madalena
5.Nada Será Como Antes
6.O Meste Sala Dos Mares
7.Travessia
8.Me Deixa em Paz
9.Romaria
10.Atrás da Porta
11.Canção do Sol
12.Dois Pra lá, Dois Pra cá
13.Cartomante
14.Redescobrir
A big thank you to Mijas @ ACM2 for orginal post.
For the complete box set and bonus album go here:
https://mega.nz/#F!uI9GFCgK!RPVWEswxR8IDLpZy9tst3Q
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