Luiz Gonzaga - O Xote Das Meninas from A História Do Nordeste - RCA (1953)
I'm long overdue for a Luiz Gonzaga post. Gonzaga is credited for launching the genre that this blog is dedicated to. His rich catalog, which I have barely featured, is full of classics.
This early 10" compilation contains some of his greatest 78 rpm records. The selection is tasteful and smart. Four songs are from 1953: Saudade de Pernambuco, O Xote das Meninas, O ABC do Sertão and Algodão & four tunes that pre-date the release of this 10", including: Asa Branca from 1947, Paraîba & Respeita Januário from 1950 and Acauã from 1952. A História Do Nordeste is a great example of Gonzaga's best early work.
10" records, like this one, are typically easier to find outside of Brazil than 12" forró LPs from the 1960s and 70s. Although it seems like these records may have been exported more widely before 1959, forró did not have an international glory period like Bossa Nova. It's possible that the Golpe de 64, or military coup of 1964, may have shut the door on the possibility, but it's more likely that the lack of affluent promotion of forró, aside from the Tropicalia participants, meant that the music was to remain trapped in Brazil. One might argue that even Tropicalia wasn't well-known internationally until recently, when it was popularized in the late 1980s by David Byrne's Luaka Bop label and imported by stores like Other Music in New York City in the 1990s and later by Dusty Groove in Chicago.
Xote is a rhythmic style in forró. Most later xotes were slow, with an oompa-oompa polka-like backing beat. Gonzaga's O Xote Das Meninas (The Xote Girls) is lively and upbeat.
I'm long overdue for a Luiz Gonzaga post. Gonzaga is credited for launching the genre that this blog is dedicated to. His rich catalog, which I have barely featured, is full of classics.
This early 10" compilation contains some of his greatest 78 rpm records. The selection is tasteful and smart. Four songs are from 1953: Saudade de Pernambuco, O Xote das Meninas, O ABC do Sertão and Algodão & four tunes that pre-date the release of this 10", including: Asa Branca from 1947, Paraîba & Respeita Januário from 1950 and Acauã from 1952. A História Do Nordeste is a great example of Gonzaga's best early work.
10" records, like this one, are typically easier to find outside of Brazil than 12" forró LPs from the 1960s and 70s. Although it seems like these records may have been exported more widely before 1959, forró did not have an international glory period like Bossa Nova. It's possible that the Golpe de 64, or military coup of 1964, may have shut the door on the possibility, but it's more likely that the lack of affluent promotion of forró, aside from the Tropicalia participants, meant that the music was to remain trapped in Brazil. One might argue that even Tropicalia wasn't well-known internationally until recently, when it was popularized in the late 1980s by David Byrne's Luaka Bop label and imported by stores like Other Music in New York City in the 1990s and later by Dusty Groove in Chicago.
Xote is a rhythmic style in forró. Most later xotes were slow, with an oompa-oompa polka-like backing beat. Gonzaga's O Xote Das Meninas (The Xote Girls) is lively and upbeat.
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| Luiz Gonzaga - O Xote Das Meninas from A História Do Nordeste - RCA (1953) |
