Walter Damasceno - Confusão No Baile from CBS 78rpm (1962)

Everything that Walter Damasceno ever recorded was killer, so go find it all. The LP is killer. The compactos are killer. The 78s are killer. This particular 78rpm is quite interesting, because it is one of the first Abdias productions for CBS. 78rpm records lingered longer in Brazil than in other territories. By 1964, they were gone. Shellac from the late 50s and early 60s sound excellent. Some of the great gaps in full forró collections exist in this period, because so few of these 78s survived.  

Walter Damasceno - Confusão No Baile from CBS 78rpm (1962)

 

Ronando Boldrin - Não Mexe Em Sertão Que Não É Seu from compacto - Continental (early 1970s)

Ronando Boldrin is a new name to me. It seems that he primarily wrote softer, middle of the road material with a northeastern flavor. Boldrin seems more comfortable as a balladeer. Não Mexe Em Sertão Que Não É Seu is about as raucous as he ever got. It is a lovely bit of smooth, upbeat forró with a hint of early 70s Gilberto Gil. 

 

Ronando Boldrin - Não Mexe Em Sertão Que Não É Seu from compacto - Continental (early 1970s)

Luiz Gonzaga - Rosinha (baião) from the Vida De Vaqueiro compacto - RCA (1961)

Luiz Gonzaga's impact on forró and northeastern Brazil is like the invention of electricity. Everything changed after he put the northeastern sound on 78rpm in the early 1940s. His career spanned the 78rpm, compacto, 10" LP, vinyl and CD era. It is amazing that he had such a huge impact on Brazilian music, yet the world is still barely aware of the entire genre. Rosinha appeared on a rare compacto and the LP "Lua" from 1961.

Luiz Gonzaga - Vida De Vaqueiro compacto - RCA (1961)

João Silva - O Côco Tava Bom from Sertanejo 78rpm (likely late 1950s early 1960s)

João Silva is a legend in the forró community, both for his prowess in the genre and for the scarcity of his high-quality early recordings. This particular 78rpm is as rare as hen's teeth and deserves to be out in the world with the best sound possible.  

João Silva - O Côco Tava Bom from Sertanejo 78rpm (likely late 1950s early 1960s)

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)

Borrachinha - Canjica no Cordeiro from São João No Brejo Vol 2 - Philips (1965)

Borrachinha created some serious magic in the 1960s and earned enough love to share several coletânea (compilation) LPs with Jackson do Pandeiro on Philips in 1960s. Philips were, arguably, among the big 3 labels for forró in the 60s, along with RCA and CBS. Compilation LPs in Brazil almost always contained original music, unlike collections from the US or Europe. Borrachinha was on at least one magical LP, Alegria Do Norte, and multiple collections before disappearing by the late 1960s. A friend of mine swears that he once saw a Borrachinha solo album, but nothing has surfaced.

São João No Brejo Vol 2 - Philips (1965)

Carcará Trio - Mulher Feia (balanço) from Sanzatri - Discos Chororó (1974)

Carcará Trio are an unusual act for forró in 1974. Why? Vocal Harmonies. There were some harmony acts from the 1950s, like 4 Azes E Um Coringa and Trio Maraya, that recorded baião, forró and other northeastern music. Most of these acts were no longer active by 1970. Some of the best forró was recorded in the 1970s, but most acts stuck to the instrumentation and rhythms established by Luiz Gonzaga in earlier decades. Carcará Trio deserve credit for trying to push the genre forward.

Carcará Trio - Sanzatri - Discos Chororó (1974)