Anastácia - Brincadeira De Mau Gosto from Vamos Xamegá - Tropicana (1972)

Anastácia is an unusual lady. She is one of the few female vocalists who also composed some of the best-loved songs in the height of forró. Anastácia's reedy soprano that was as distinctive as the voices of Marinés, Marinalva and Clemilda. 

Anastácia - Vamos Xamegá - Tropicana (1972)

4 Ases e 1 Coringa - Tesouro E Meio (baião) 1951 from Boneca de Pano - RCA (1960 or 1961)

The 4 Ases e 1 Coringa recording of the Luiz Gonzaga composed Tesouro E Meio originally appeared on a 78rpm in 1951. Gonzaga's version was not released until 1956. I assumed that Gonzaga's version was released first, but his recording was not pressed onto shellac until 1956. I am uncertain if Gonzaga played the song on the radio, live or he gave the song to 4 Ases e 1 Coringa to record. Please comment if you know the answer. Tesouro E Meio has a wonderful, bluesy and shadowy chorus sounding like much of Luiz Gonzaga's most wistful and haunting cowboy songs. 

The LP, Boneca De Pano, is a collection of 4 Ases e 1 Coringa 78rpm singles. Their 2nd LP, É Com Esse Que Eu Vou, was credited to their full name written as Quatro Ases E Um Coringa and featured a collection of new recordings. For whatever reason, Boneca De Pano is far less common. 4 Ases e 1 Coringa was written about 4 different ways on releases and is a total pain to search for. They just weren't made for these times.

4 Ases e 1 Coringa - Boneca de Pano - RCA (year unknown)

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)