Clemilda - Eu Vou Tambem from Eu Vou Tambem - MusiColor (1975)

The classic period of forró begins to morph in the mid-1970s. Carimbo and disco influences begin to weave into the sound. Gradually, drum kits were added until they become ubiquitous in the 1980s. Eu Vou Tambem is pure old school forró with clean, belting 1970s production featuring some of the best session musicians of the era. 1975 seems like the end of that era, in retrospect. The quality of the productions and songwriting seemed to wane around 1976. 

Curiously, there are a lot of 1970s forró album covers featuring musicians standing in a park or on a median in the bushes staring at the sun. Tight Budgets?

Clemilda - Eu Vou Tambem - MusiColor (1975)

Clemilda - Forró De J Luna from Clemilda - Musicolor (1973)

Clemilda has an impressive catalog of high quality forró albums. Clemilda got her start as the voice on late 60s Gerson Filho LPs until becoming a solo artist under her own name. Filho and Clemilda married in the mid-1960s. In this way, they were similar to Marinés and her accordionist husband, Abdias. Unusually, Clemilda and Filho were also fruitful collaborators, co-composing many songs on Clemilda LPs, including Forró De J Luna included here. Although her discographies are choppy and somewhat incomplete, her catalog in the late 60s and early 70s is abundant and well-recorded.

Clemilda - Forró De J Luna from Clemilda - Musicolor (1973)

Trio Nortista - Ding-Ding from Se Eu Te Contar, É Chato - Musicolor (1979)

Trio Nortista created a number of excellent LPs for numerous labels beginning in the 1960s on Mocambo. This is my favorite version of the group featuring singer Jonas de Andrade. 

Trio Nortista - Se Eu Te Contar, É Chato - Musicolor (1979)

Coronel Ludru - Sanfoneiro Do Bom from Coronel Ludru - Musicolor (1975)

Coronel Ludru is a forró artist that I basically counted out entirely. He is primarily known for nasally comedy records from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The badly dated material is reminiscent of Genival Lacerda's (thankfully) sparse comedy output from the late 1960s and early 1970s. That said, Sanfoneiro Do Bom is a nice little nugget hiding on his 1975 self-titled LP. Outside of this tune, it is worth the search for Coronel Ludru to take a gander at his ludicrous and often excellent album covers, but don't expect to find many classic forró songs. 

Coronel Ludru - Coronel Ludru - Musicolor (1975)

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)

Paulo Tito - A Vassoura Do Compadre from O Vendedor De Biscoito - MusiColor (1960)

O Vendedor De Biscoito by Paulo Tito is a legendary rare forró LP. The legend is that this was never supposed to be Tito's LP. Originally, this was supposed to be a Gordurinha album. 

Interestingly, according to notes made on Tito's Baiano De Guanabara page on forroemvinil, Tito claims that he fell into the genre by accident. The singer was asked to collaborate on an LP with Gordurinha in the style of baião and forró. Gordurinha had to back out and the project continued without him. Quite accidentally, Paulo Tito became a forró recording star (sort of). Although he was assisted by Luiz Gonzaga in his early career, Tito thought of himself primarily as a romantic singer. 

Paulo Tito carries the distinction of having some of the rarest forró LPs, thanks to the high quality of the material and the limited availability of vintage vinyl. It is not entirely clear why this is. It is likely that the negligible number of LPs were pressed of the 3 solo records that Tito recorded in the 60s.* A bit of speculation... Perhaps, because Tito considered himself an outsider to the genre or because his record companies considered him an outsider, he/they did not promote his work as heavily as acts that were trying to make a career out of forró. It is possible that the military coup in 1964 also slowed his career. Although he continued recording, the elusive early 60s material is what gave Tito his legendary status in forró.

Paulo Tito - O Vendedor De Biscoito - MusiColor (1960)

Jota Lima - Novo Nordeste from O Novo Nordeste - Musicolor (1970)

Jota Lima - Novo Nordeste from O Novo Nordeste - Musicolor (1970)

'

This is a little bonus post from this rare 1970 LP by Jota Lima. What makes this LP stand out, aside from the gallant lead vocals by Lima, are the unusual backing vocals, which sound like they would be more at home on a 60s pop record than your typical forró LP. It would have been great to be a fly on the wall when some of these LPs were produced. With some exceptions, we are only left with the final vinyl and none of the stories about the making of these glorious records.

Jota Lima - O Novo Nordeste - Musicolor (1970)

Jota Lima / Branca - Lindo Papel from O Novo Nordeste / 1 Festival Da Musica Nordestina - Musicolor (1970) / RCA 1971

Jota Lima - Lindo Papel from O Novo Nordeste - Musicolor (1970)

 

Branca - Lindo Papel from 1º Festival Da Musica Nordestina - RCA Camden (1971)

This week, I am stoked to present 2 versions of a great song, Lindo Papel, from two heavy, classic rare forró LPs. Jota Lima's O Novo Nordeste is one of the scarcest albums, on the level of José Bezerra and a handful of others who managed to deliver a classic without achieving massive notoriety when the LP was released. The production of O Novo Nordeste has a gorgeous gooey sound with great backing vocals. Lima has one of the most dramatic voices in forró, but manages to deliver without sounding sickly or schmaltzy. Branca also sounds like she is giving the performance of her life. While the production on 1 Festival Da Musica Nordestina is not quite as dramatic, Branca's voice is classically, and masterfully, husky Brazilian. It's rare to hear two great versions of any song in any genre. Each artist truly made Lindo Papel his and her own. Jota Lima released at least one more LP in 1975. Branca's future after her appearance on 1 Festival Da Musica Nordestina in 1971 is a mystery. Nothing has surfaced from her outside of this one recording.

Jota Lima - O Novo Nordeste - Musicolor (1970)

1 Festival Da Musica Nordestina - RCA (1971)