Genival Lacerda - A Menina De Campina Grande (rojão) from O Senador Do Rojão - Chantecler (1968)

Genival Lacerda died in January 2021 of COVID. He was one of the few forró greats to survive past the millennium. Genival Lacerda was one of the reasons I started collecting forró. His work recorded between the early 1960s and 1975 is astonishingly good. Lacerda found a commercial niche after 1975, clowning around on television and recording songs laced with double entendre. Lacerda was always interested in comedy and recorded a comedy record in 1970. However, the comedy part of his persona dominated his career after Severina Xique-Xique in 1975. Serious collectors initially scoffed when I expressed interest in collecting Genival Lacerda's records, primarily because they had not heard the period before he became a variety show staple in Brazil. However, this perception may have shifted some in the past 10 years. A Menina De Campina Grande, written by Genival Lacerda and Elino Julião and recorded in 1968, is a gem from his golden era when his skill in the genre was second-to-none. Genival Lacerda was a blazing light. 

Genival Lacerda - O Senador Do Rojão - Chantecler (1968)

Jackson Do Pandeiro - Côco Social from Os Donos Do Ritmo - Copacabana (1958)

Côco Social, from Jackson Do Pandeiro's rarest album from his 10" period, Os Donos Do Ritmo, is a great example of how Jackson could elevate a song that most others would make pedestrian. Côco Social is a côco rhythm, but grooves a bit like a marcha or a samba. Most songs recorded in a march style have aged badly. Jackson, almost without exception, knew how to rise above and create magic. 

Jackson Do Pandeiro - Os Donos Do Ritmo - Copacabana (1958)

Ary Lobo - Tudo Lembra Você from Piedade Senhor - Som (1972)

Tudo Lebra Você is a killer 1970s Ary Lobo track. This may be my favorite Lobo tune from his post-RCA and post-Cantagalo years. The SOM LPs are not quite as consistent as his earlier albums, but it is difficult to find fault with an artist who is a true genius. Ary Lobo's records stand up to anything that Jackson Do Pandeiro, Genival Lacerda and Luiz Gonzaga were releasing at the time. Often, Ary Lobo surpassed these greats.

Ary Lobo - Piedade Senhor - Som (1972)

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)