Zito Borborema - Cabra Valentão (rojão) from O Nordeste Canta - RGE (1957)

Cabra Valentão is a beautifully produced track by Zito Borborema. O Nordeste Canta is one of the great albums of the short lived 10" album period from the mid to late 1950s. Zito Borborema, Ary Lobo, Jackson do Pandeiro, Jair Alves, Luiz Gonzaga, Zé Gonzaga, Volta Seca, Marinês, Gilvan Chaves and João Mello all have classic 10" (10 Polegadas in Portuguese) albums from this period. Usually, 10" albums were collections of 78 rpm singles. O Nordeste Canta contains exceedingly rare 78s, so it is fortunate that vinyl came along when it did to document these amazing songs. 

Thank you Samuel for the historical information!

Zito Borborema - Cabra Valentão (rojão) from O Nordeste Canta - RGE (1957)

Pedro Sertanejo e Seus Meninos - Campo Belo from O Bom Baião - Musicolor (1976)

If you flip over a 1970s forró record, chances are it was produced by one of two people. If it was on CBS, most albums were produced by Abdias. If it was on Tropicana or Cantagalo, Pedro Sertanejo was your man. Both producers were also prolific artists and accordionists. This week, I am featuring Campo Belo from O Bom Baião. This happens to be one of my favorite forró instrumentals ever, and I don't tend to like instrumental tracks. Campo Belo simply glows. Enjoy!

Pedro Sertanejo e Seus Meninos - Campo Belo from O Bom Baião - Musicolor (1976)

Pedro Sertanejo e Seus Meninos - O Bom Baião - Musicolor (1976)

Luiz Wanderley - Carolina (calypso) from 78rpm, No Rock compacto & E Seus Grandes Sucessos - Rosicler (1960)

Did forró artists ever try to incorporate rock music? The answer is yes, and this very rare EP compacto by Luiz Wanderley was one of the few attempts. I believe the that first forró / rock hybrid, called Baião Rock, was recorded by Jair Alves as a 78rpm in 1957. That tune had more in common with the swing era than rock (although rock owes a lot to swing). Ultimately, I think it was an attempt to cash in on the label "rock" instead of the style and spirit. 

Luiz Wanderley does a much better job with Carolina. Interestingly, Carolina isn't a rock song. It's calypso. For those of you who know a little bit about early rock history, calypso was supposed to be the next big craze after rock n' roll. It is documented that pre-Beatle John Lennon attempted to write a calypso tune in 1957 called Calypso Rock. Lennon never recorded this song. This demonstrates the widespread, albeit short term, international mainstream success of calypso.

Carolina is the best rock / calypso hybrid that I have ever heard and is one of my favorite Luiz Wanderley songs. This is quite an accomplishment for an artist primarily known at the time for baião and forró. 

Happy New Year!

Luiz Wanderley - Carolina from 78rpm, No Rock compacto & E Seus Grandes Sucessos - Rosicler (1960)