Luiz Gonzaga - Xamego from Xamego - RCA (1958)

Luiz Gonzaga was the first forró artist that I explored. His work was available for free on the, now seemingly defunct, official website in the mid-2000s. RCA also released a comprehensive remastered reissue series of most of his work as well. 

Luiz Gonzaga produced a lot of work in his lifetime. Gonzaga was a strong singles artist in the 1940s. When the format became popular, Gonzaga mainly produced LPs. The early releases were collections of singles. Xamego was not. Xamego was the first album of his career that was not released as a 10", but the new 12" format that would become the standard for the subsequent 30 years. 

Some Gonzaga albums plod a bit with too many xotés and bum tracks, but even iffy albums usually have a few good numbers. One thing Luiz Gonzaga was exceptional at doing was pulling out an ace track during flagging periods. His Odeon albums in the 70s may be the most energetic tracks ever recorded by an older artist.

Luiz Gonzaga - Xamego - RCA (1958)

Maria Bonita - Saudade Que Vai E Vem from Aquarela Nordestina - Spot (1969)

Sixties forró can be pretty hard to find. This may be partly due to the political changes in Brazil in that decade, although Bossa Nova was a global phenomenon. Bossa Nova is still very collectible. Elenco albums, considered by many to be the big label for Bossa Nova, seemed to get more international distribution.

For whatever reason, more forró records were exported during the 1950s. Records on a small label, like Spot or Maraca, rarely made it out of Brazil in the 1960s and pressing numbers were likely low. Aquarela Nordestina is one of the better, and final, great compilations of the decade with a number of strong songs. Saudade Que Vai E Vem by Maria Bonita, an artist new to me, may be my favorite track on the LP. It sounds like a strong Marinês song.

Aquarela Nordestina - Spot (1969)

Marinês & Sua Gente - Pra Cha-Cha from Coisas Do Norte - RCA (1963)

Marinês was the only person in all of forró that could wear the crazy Lampião bandit costume and look like a bad ass doing it. Pra Cha-Cha is not from an LP, but the excellent 2004 CD reissue of this classic album. Someone at RCA did a great job with reissues, especially Ary Lobo and Marinês. Unfortunately, they didn't finish the catalog of either of the artists. Luiz Gonzaga also has fine reissues, but his gets a slight demerit because they do not feature the full original LP artwork. Regardless, we have crystal clear remastered versions of these amazing albums. Now, even the CD reissues have become quite scarce. 

Marinês & Sua Gente - Coisas Do Norte - RCA (1963)