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) |
No comments:
Post a Comment