Ivon Curi - Fui Eu Não (Baião) from Meus Melhores Momentos - RCA Victor (1959)

Fui Eu Não is an inspired baião tune from Ivon Curi (sometimes spelled Cury), a Brazilian crooner who recorded material from a variety of Brazilian genres. I would not have been surprised if Brazilians pigeonholed Curi as a middle of the road artist. Interestingly, and out of context, Fui Eu Não sounds a lot like a song from the Tropicália LP. The orchestrations could have been arranged by Rogério Duprat, although I have found no evidence that he worked with Curi during this period. Timing, intention and context matter. By reappropriating this sound with different intentions and ideals, the imaginative Tropicália crowd managed to transform something that may have been considered tacky, whitewashed and MOR into "art." In the immortal words of David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel, "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever." I'd like to say that Fui Eu Não definitely belongs in the clever category.

Ivon Curi - Fui Eu Não (Baião) from Meus Melhores Momentos - RCA Victor (1959)

Ivon Curi - Meus Melhores Momentos compacto duplo - RCA Victor (1959)

Coroné Narcisinho / Narcizinho e Sua Gente - O Canto De Iemanjá from Self Titled - RVM (1960s)

Coroné Narcisinho / Narcizinho e Sua Gente - O Canto De Iemanjá from Self Titled - RVM (1960s)

There is no information about this particular record on the Interwebs, so I am taking a guess as to when this was published. My sweetheart noted that the woman on the cover has a hairstyle (beehive) and dress more similar to 1950s / early 1960s styles, so it is likely that this LP was released before 1967. I'd guess 1963 - 1965. I have never seen records published on RVM before. RVM seemed to publish records from the early 1960s into the mid 1970s, although I have not found a discography to confirm this, only an odd compilation here and there in that time frame.

O Canto De Iemanjá is a cool track with heaps of haunting reverb. Coroné Narcisinho, sometimes spelled Narcizinho, released a fairly sizable stack of classic records in what I call the silver and bronze ages of forró, ranging from 1960 through the mid 1970s. This particular album is one of his more obscure releases. Hoja Sertaneja, an album that I will feature later in this blog, was a collaboration with multiple artists and was reissued with at least 3 different covers on vinyl. Reissues are very rare for forró records. It is likely that that Hoja Sertaneja was a big hit. This record, called simply Coroné Narcisinho E Sua Gente, was released once and never again.

Coroné Narcisinho e Sua Gente - O Canto De Iemanjá from Self Titled - RVM (1960s)

Zé Gonzaga - Encontro com Lampião from Coração de Sertanejo - Copacabana (1960)

Encontro com Lampião is a deep rarity, delivered with tremendous bravado by Zé Gonzaga. This LP is particularly rare. Mine is in such bad condition that only the first song plays. This is lucky, because it may be the finest track on the LP. Encontro com Lampião refers to Lampião, the bandit from Northeastern Brazil who was beheaded by authorities in 1938. Luiz Gonzaga (*Who I now know, thanks to Austin's Vinyl, was the brother of Zé) modeled his stage persona based on Lampião's image, which included the distinctive half-moon cowboy hats and rugged outfits. This became the most recognizable fashion for baião, and later forró, that some performers still pay homage to today.


Zé Gonzaga - Encontro com Lampião from Coração de Sertanejo - Copacabana (1960)

Zé Gonzaga - Coração de Sertanejo - Copacabana (1960)

Zito Borborema - Coisas Linda Do Pará & Saudade De Meus Pais from Homenagem Ao Mestre - Cantagalo (1969)

My friend Samuel has an autographed copy of Homenagem Ao Mestre dated by Zito in 1969. Otherwise, judging by the cover, it looks as if it could have been released any time from 1967 to 1972. Zito Borborema has one of the great, distinctive voices of forró, beginning his recording career in the silver age in the mid-1950s. The first moments of Coisas Linda Do Pará are pleasant enough, but the moment Borborema starts singing, the spell is cast. Homenagem Ao Mestre is beautifully recorded. The reverb and bass response on this record is unusual, with production that sounds more typical of early 60s 78 rpm records than LPs.

Zito Borborema - Coisas Linda Do Pará from Homenagem Ao Mestre - Cantagalo (1969)

Zito Borborema - Saudade De Meus Pais from Homenagem Ao Mestre - Cantagalo (1969)

Zito Borborema - Homenagem Ao Mestre - Cantagalo (1969)