Marinês – Amor é Mais Amor from Mandacarú - CBS 1968

Marinés – Amor é Mais Amor from Mandacarú - CBS 1968

Like Luiz Gonzaga, Marinês always has at least a few excellent tracks on every LP. She also had the best band in the business, along with Jackson do Pandeiro's Borborema. Marinês was married to Abdias, who, outside of Jackson and Gonzaga, may be the single most important musician in all of forró, thanks to his A&R work at CBS in the late 1960s and 1970s. Marinês and Abdias were a killer team and a force of nature.   

Marinês e sua gente - Mandacarú - CBS 1968

Marinês in bandit gear

Esmeraldo Bispo - Homenagem Ao Forró from Homenagem Ao Forró - DEX (1980)

Esmeraldo Bispo - Homenagem Ao Forró from Homenagem Ao Forró - DEX (1980)

Esmeraldo Bispo, powered by the youngest triangle player in forró, created his tribute / homage to forró in 1980, name dropping many of the greats. Name them all and earn a zabumba badge.

Esmeraldo Bispo - Homenagem Ao Forró - DEX (1980)

Luiz Wanderley - Côco Do F & Forró Em Caxias from compacto duplo - Mocambo (1960)

Luiz Wanderley - Côco Do F & Forró Em Caxias from compacto duplo - Mocambo (1960)

When Luiz Wanderley was rolling, virtually no other forró artist could touch him. Wanderley, like greats Ary Lobo and Jackson do Pandeiro, had a knack for interpretation, phrasing and melodic brilliance. Wanderley's recording career ended in the late 1960s. No reissue of any of Wanderley's early work has appeared since the 1980s. Outside of a community of new collectors wowed by Wanderley, people seem scarcely aware of his accomplishments. Perhaps there are legal or contractual reasons why some of this great music remains buried in the vaults. Or, perhaps, no interested parties have come knocking. Maybe, one day, I might be able to discover the secret. At any rate, these records need to be rescued. Based on the music, it is clear why the vinyl is so highly prized by collectors. This compacto originally appeared as 2 78rpm records. In the late 50s and early 1960s, releasing compactos with tracks that originally appeared on 78rpm records was common. The difference, ultimately, was that compactos were promotional and only sent to radio while the 78rpms were, generally, commercially available. This means that there are more 78s floating around than vinyl of certain artists and for certain releases. Côco Do F is a barnstormer in the coco style, popularized by Jackson do Pandeiro. Forró Em Caxias is a gorgeous, exemplary melodic pop song bettered by few in the style before or after.

Luiz Wanderley - Cõco Do F from compacto duplo - Mocambo (1960)

Luiz Wanderley - Forró Em Caxias from compacto duplo - Mocambo (1960)