Agostinho dos Santos


Agostinho dos Santos was a Brazilian singer and composer of bossa nova, MPB and rock and roll, active from the early 1950s until his premature death in an airplane accident in 1973. Dos Santos is best known today for lending his voice to the soundtrack of the classic 1959 film Orfeu Negro. He is also credited with playing a role in the development of the careers of other important Bossa Nova artists, such as João Gilberto and Milton Nascimento. Dos Santos' voice was a baritone with bright coloring and a light vibrato, singing in a style called "crooner da orchestra".

Career

Agostinho dos Santos was born in São Paulo, in the neighborhood called Bela Vista or Bixiga. One of his first jobs in music was singing at a taxi-dancing club called O maravilhoso in São Paulo. Early in his career, Dos Santos sang with the orchestra of Osmar Milani, and on a lunchtime radio program hosted by Manuel de Nóbrega on Radio Nacional. Dos Santos' first recordings were successes. The first, Vendedor de laranjas became widely popular in Brazil, while his second major hit, Meu benzinho was a Portuguese version of the song "My Little One" recorded in English by Frankie Laine. Also during this period Dos Santos successfully recorded a Portuguese version of the Bill Haley hit "See You Later Alligator", "Até Logo, Jacaré." During 1959, Dos Santos frequently appeared on a music program featuring Tom Jobim, called O bom Tom, broadcast on TV Paulista in São Paulo.
Dos Santos provided his voice to an important film of the Bossa Nova era, Orfeu Negro , dubbing the songs sung by the lead character in the film, played by Breno Mello. Dos Santos was selected to dub the part in preference to João Gilberto, who also auditioned for the part, because the producers felt Dos Santos' voice sounded more black. As a result of his work in the film, Dos Santos received offers to appear in music clubs, theaters, and on television worldwide.
Dos Santos was a participant in the historic 1962 concert Bossa Nova at Carnegie Hall, in which he enjoyed great success with the audience. A review in The New York Times cited Dos Santos' performance particularly, stating that his voice was the most beautiful voice of the decade. In 1963, he traveled with Jose Scatena, president of the RGE record label, on a visit that inaugurated the release of RGE offerings through the Argentinian record company Fermata. By 1964, Dos Santos was one of the highest paid television performers in Brazil. In 1971 he participated in the first Onda Nueva music festival in Venezuela.
During his career, Dos Santos toured through the U.S., Italy, Germany, Portugal, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, and Mexico. He performed in the U.S. and in Brazil with Johnny Mathis, and, in Italy, with Caterina Valente. Dos Santos appeared on TV in France, Portugal, England, and Belgium. His compositions include "Forças Ocultas", "Sozinho Com Você", "Chuva Para Molhar O Sol", "Podem Falar", "Distância é Saudade," and "Quem Levou Maria."

Influence on Brazilian popular music

Bossa Nova historian Walter Silva states that it was Dos Santos who introduced João Gilberto to the rhythmic innovations of Johnny Alf, considered to be the father of Bossa Nova. Gilberto would go on to build an illustrious career on this stylistic foundation. In their history of Brazilian popular music, Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha credit Dos Santos with submitting the work of Milton Nascimento to the 1967 Second Festival Internacional de Canção , resulting in Nascimento's work being accepted to the festival and triggering further growth in Nascimento's career. Dos Santos was also artistic director of the LP album of performances at the festival, which was issued by the Brazilian record company Codil.

Personal life

Dos Santos had three children. Dos Santos played soccer for a team from his neighborhood in São Paulo called Boca Junior, and also for on a team composed of fellow musicians.

Death

Dos Santos was a passenger on Varig Flight 820, traveling from Galeão Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Orly Airport, Paris, France, on July 11, 1973, when a fire on board the airplane caused it to make an emergency landing in a field not far from the airport. Dos Santos was among the 123 fatalities.

Discography

During his career, Agostinho recorded for a variety of labels, including Polydor, RGE, Odeon, Continental, and Sinter.
Dos Santos appeared on screen in at least one film, called Operação dinamite. In that film, produced in Portugal in 1967, dos Santos appeared as himself.