Roberto Carlos (singer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roberto Carlos Braga (born April 19, 1941 in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, Brazil) is one of the most popular MPB ('Brazilian Popular Music') singers in history, having achieved a great deal of success and recognition for over 40 years. Most of his songs are written in partnership with his friend, the singer and songwriter Erasmo Carlos.
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[edit] Life and career
At age six, Roberto Carlos was involved in a freak train accident, the result being the amputation of part of his left leg, and the subsequent use of a prosthesis right below his knee. Influenced by his idol, Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock revolution, he rose to stardom as the main figure of the 60s musical movement known as Jovem Guarda (Young guard, as in vanguard), which was the first manifestation of the Brazilian pop rock movement. Since then, he has been called "O Rei" (the King), a la Elvis and Pelé.
During the 1960s, he also started in a few motion pictures directed by Roberto Farias, many of them heavily inspired by the Beatles movies. Later, he moved towards a more serious, adult contemporary approach to singing, whilst consistently continuing to score hits throughout the 70s and 80s, in his country, throughout Latin America, Portugal, Spain and Italy. He remained active through the 90s and beyond, focusing on romantic songs. Every year, Roberto Carlos hosts a holiday special singing his greatest hits along with special guests, which has become a tradition in Brazilian television.
In the 1980s, Carlos also started to record in English and French (he had already recorded albums in Spanish, Italian, and, naturally, Portuguese), having won the Globo de Cristal trophy, awarded by CBS to Brazilian artists who sell more than five million copies outside Brazil. At the same time, his albums continued to break records in his country. "Caminhoneiro" (1984) was aired 3,000 times in a single day, another record soon beaten by his own "Verde e Amarelo" (1985), with 3,500 spins. In 1986, he had success at Radio City Music Hall (New York, NY) and, two years later, won the Grammy as the Best Latin American Pop singer. In 1989, his Sonrie reached first place on Billboard's Latin chart.
In 1989, Roberto Carlos became one of the only Brazilians ever to win a Grammy Award in the category of Best Latin Pop Album with Roberto Carlos / Tolo.
In the 1990s, Roberto Carlos became the first Latin American artist to sell more albums than the Beatles (in 1994, having by then sold over 70 million copies of his albums). In the mid'90s, with the retro Jovem Guarda wave, Carlos, who was worn out among the younger generations who had only known his romantic and sentimental hits directed at a middleaged audience, had his importance recuperated by young rockers such as Cássia Eller, Chico Science Nação Zumbi, Barão Vermelho, and Skank, who recorded Rei, a tribute to him with his old Jovem Guarda hits.
In 1998, his second wife Maria Rita discovered she had cancer (she would die in 1999), which shattered his peace of mind. Trying to keep on with his career, Carlos continued to record and perform after one year of reclusion. In 2001, he broke his contract with Sony (exCBS), the recording company through which he had released a vast majority of his albums, due to commercial reasons related to his wife's demise.
[edit] Discography
Singles
- João e Maria / Fora do Tom (1959)
- Canção do Amor Nenhum / Brotinho sem Juízo (1960)
- Fim de Amor / Malena (1962)
- Susie / Triste e Abandonado (1962)
LPs
- Louco por Você (1961)
- Splish Splash (1963)
- É Proibido Fumar (1964)
- Roberto Carlos Canta para a Juventude (1965)
- Jovem Guarda (1965)
- Roberto Carlos / Eu te Darei o Céu (1966)
- Roberto Carlos em Ritmo de Aventura (1967)
- O Inimitável (1968)
- Roberto Carlos / As Flores do Jardim de Nossa Casa (1969)
- Roberto Carlos / Ana (1970)
- Roberto Carlos / Detalhes (1971)
- Roberto Carlos / À Janela (1972)
- Roberto Carlos / A Cigana (1973)
- Roberto Carlos / Despedida (1974)
- Roberto Carlos / Quero que vá Tudo pro Inferno (1975)
- San Remo 1968 (1976)
- Roberto Carlos / Ilegal, Imoral ou Engorda (1976)
- Roberto Carlos / Amigo (1977)
- Roberto Carlos / Fé (1978)
- Roberto Carlos / Na Paz do seu Sorriso (1979)
- Roberto Carlos / A Guerra dos Meninos (1980)
- Roberto Carlos / Honestly (1981)
- Roberto Carlos / Ele está pra Chegar (1981)
- Roberto Carlos / Amiga (1982)
- Roberto Carlos / O Amor é a Moda (1983)
- Roberto Carlos / Coração (1984)
- Roberto Carlos / Verde e Amarelo (1985)
- Roberto Carlos / Apocalipse (1986)
- Roberto Carlos / Tô Chutando Lata (1987)
- Roberto Carlos ao Vivo (1988)
- Roberto Carlos / Se Diverte e já não Pensa em Mim (1988)
- Roberto Carlos / Tolo (1989)
- Roberto Carlos / Super-Herói (1990)
- Roberto Carlos / Todas as Manhãs (1991)
- Roberto Carlos / Você é Minha (1992)
- Roberto Carlos / O Velho Caminhoneiro (1993)
- Roberto Carlos / Alô (1994)
- Roberto Carlos / Amigo não Chore por Ela (1995)
- Roberto Carlos / Mulher de 40 (1996)
- Canciones que Amo (1997)
- Roberto Carlos / Meu Menino Jesus (1998)
- Amor sem Limite (2000)
- Acústico MTV (2001)
- Pra Sempre (2003) BRA: #1 (1,000,000 copies in its first week)
- Roberto Carlos Pra Sempre ao Vivo no Pacaembu (2004) (Latin Grammy 2005 Best Romantic Album)
- Roberto Carlos (2005)/ Arrasta uma cadeira
[edit] Filmography
- Roberto Carlos em Ritmo de Aventura (1967)
- Roberto Carlos e o Diamante Cor-de-Rosa (1970)
- A 300 km/h (1971)
[edit] Trivia
- The mother of the Brazilian football player Roberto Carlos named him after the singer.
[edit] See also
- Best selling music artists - World's top selling music artists chart.
