William Blanco Abrunhosa Trindade (8 May 1924 – 8 July 2011), commonly known as Billy Blanco, was a Brazilian architect, musician, composer, and writer.

Early life and education

Blanco was born in 1940 in

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

, and is of Spanish (Galicia, Northwest of Spain). He had an interest in music since he was a child, composing carefully written out samba music, with elaborate lyrics, subjects, and musical compositions. During the 1940s, as he was studying engineering, he moved to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

to study architecture, enrolling at Mackenzie College in 1946. He later moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and studied at the University of Architecture and Fine Arts in 1948. He graduated with a degree in architecture in 1950.

Career

Blanco had a unique style, describing his previous experiences either with humor or with exaltation, of experiences of love and disillusionment. Where his syncopatic style of samba, which diverged from contemporary works and grabbed the attention of singers at the time. The first composition of his career was "Pra Variar" in 1951. During the 1950s and 1960s, hit songs of his were recorded by

Dick Farney Farnésio Dutra e Silva (14 November 1921 – 4 August 1987), better known as Dick Farney, was a Brazilian jazz pianist, composer, and singer who was popular in Brazil from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s and 1980s. Biography He began playing pi ...

, ,

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto do Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer, and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he w ...

Dolores Duran Dolores Duran (''Adiléia Silva da Rocha''; 7 June 1930 – 24 October 1959) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a so ...

Sílvio Caldas Sílvio Antônio Narciso de Figueiredo Caldas (23 May 1908 – 3 February 1998) was a Brazilian singer and composer. Early life Caldas was born on 23 May 1908 in the Imperial de São Cristóvão, São Cristóvão neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. ...

Nora Ney Nora Ney (born Iracema de Sousa Ferreira, Rio de Janeiro, March 20, 1922 – Rio de Janeiro, October 2003) was a Brazilian singer. She is also the most notable singer of the samba-canção music style and a pioneer of the Brazilian rock. Biogra ...

, Jamelão,

Elizeth Cardoso Elizeth Moreira Cardoso (sometimes listed as Elisete Cardoso) (July 16, 1920 – May 7, 1990), was a singer and actress of great renown in Brazil. Biography Cardoso was born in Rio de Janeiro; her father was a serenader who played guitar, a ...

, Dóris Monteiro, Os Cariocas,

Pery Ribeiro Pery Ribeiro (27 October 1937 – 24 February 2012) was a Brazilian singer of bossa nova, MPB and jazz, active from 1959 until shortly before his death. Biography Pery Ribeiro was born Peri Oliveira Martins on 27 October 1937, son of the singe ...

Miltinho Milton Santos de Almeida (January 31, 1928 – September 7, 2014), known professionally as Miltinho (Miltiño in Spanish), was a Brazilian singer of samba, sambalanço, samba-canção and bossa nova music. Early years Milton Santos de Almeid ...

Elis Regina Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 1982), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of Bossa nova, Música popular brasileira, MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and ...

, Miriam Batucada and

Hebe Camargo Hebe Maria Monteiro de Camargo Ravagnani (; 8 March 1929 – 29 September 2012) was a Brazilian television host, singer and actress. She is considered the "Queen of Brazilian Television" (). She died at her home on 29 September 2012. Her net ...

. His first major success was “Estatutos da Gafieira", sung by

Inezita Barroso Ignez Magdalena Aranha de Lima Barroso (Given name, ''née'' Aranha de Lima; March 4, 1925 – March 8, 2015) was a Brazilian Música sertaneja, sertanejo singer, guitarist, actress, TV presenter, librarian, folklorist and teacher. Biography In ...

, recorded at RCA Victor studios in 1954. Among his musical partners were Baden Powell, in "Samba Triste",

Tom Jobim Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

, in "Sinfonia do Rio de Janeiro" and

, in "Descendo o Morro" e "A Montanha/O Morro", a tribute to the people of the favelas. He and violinist

Sebastião Tapajós Sebastião Tapajós (April 16, 1943 – October 2, 2021) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer from Santarém (Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon Riv ...

composed 56 works, and with other composers, wrote about 500 works in total. Of those, about 300 were recorded. Among his other hits, they include "Sinfonia Paulistana", "Tereza da Praia", "O Morro", "Estatuto da Gafieira", "Mocinho Bonito", "Samba Triste", "Viva meu Samba", "Samba de Morro", "Pra Variar", "Sinfonia do Rio de Janeiro" and "Canto Livre". "Sinfonia do Rio de Janeiro" is composed of ten songs, written in partnership with Tom Jobim, in 1960. These songs include "Hino ao Sol", "Coisas do Dia", "Matei-me no Trabalho", "Zona Sul", "Arpoador", "Noites do Rio", "A Montanha", "O Morro", "Descendo o Morro" and "Samba do Amanhã". "Sinfonia Paulistana" was finished in 1974, after 10 years of work. It is made up of 15 songs, sung by, among others,

Elza Soares Elza da Conceição Soares (née Gomes; 23 June 1930 – 20 January 2022), known professionally as Elza Soares (), was a Brazilian samba singer. In 1999, she was named Singer of the Millennium along with Tina Turner by BBC Radio. Elza was dee ...

, Cláudia, Claudette Soares, Nadinho da Ilha, and Miltinho, with chorus provided by the

Teatro Municipal de São Paulo Teatro may refer to: * Theatre * Teatro (band) Teatro, Italian for "theatre", is a vocal group signed to the Sony BMG music label. The members of Teatro are Jeremiah James, Andrew Alexander, Simon Bailey and Stephen Rahman-Hughes. Band membe ...

. The production was done by Aloysio de Oliveira, with an orchestra led by maestro Chico de Moraes. The songs on the album include "Louvação de Anchieta", "Bartira", "Monções", "Tema de São Paulo", "Capital do Tempo", "O Dinheiro", "Coisas da Noite", "O Céu de São Paulo", "Amanhecendo", "O Tempo e a Hora", "Viva o Camelô", "Pro Esporte", "São Paulo Jovem", "Rua Augusta" and "Grande São Paulo". "Monções" is noted for its carimbó influence, and "O Tempo e a Hora" is a fustion between bossa nova and pop. ''

O Estado de S. Paulo ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in State of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to Berliner (format), ...

'' noted the refrain of "Amanhecendo" as "what best defines the people of São Paulo". From 1974 to 2017, the song, the most well known from this album, was part of the soundtrack to ''Jornal da Manhã'', the morning newscast of

Rádio Jovem Pan Jovem Pan is the main Brazilian radio station based in São Paulo, Brazil. The network has several bureaus, 109 affiliated stations all over Brazil. Jovem Pan broadcasts through satellite digital quality sound reaching more than 25 million listen ...

. After briefly spending time at

Fort Copacabana Fort Copacabana (, ) is a military base at the south end of the beach that defines the district of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The base is open to the public and contains the ''Museu Histórico do Exército'' (Army Historical Museum) and ...

during the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

, Blanco composed "Canto Livre". In 2009, he accepted the invite of filmmaker Cesar Nero to participate in the production of "Desde o Princípio" with his own song, "Sinfonia Paulistana", about a messenger from the future who arrives in São Paulo to attempt to avert catastrophe. The production included the participation of Antonio Abujamra, Maximira Figueiredo,

José Mojica Marins José Mojica Marins (13 March 1936 – 19 February 2020) was a Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host. Marins is also known for creating and playing the character Coffin Joe (loosely translated from Zé d ...

, Mario Gomes, and

Chico Anysio Chico Anysio (born Francisco Anysio de Oliveira Paula Filho, 12 April 1931 – 23 March 2012) was a Brazilian actor, comedian, writer and composer. Biography Anysio was born in Maranguape, Ceará. He moved with the family to Rio de Janeiro ...

. While keeping the works of this production with Nero and exchanging information, Blanco continued to dedicate himself to gospel music until he suffered a stroke in 2010, being hospitalized in Rio de Janeiro. Despite being in stable condition, he lost all ability to speak. He died on 8 July 2011, at 87 years old. In 2012, the municipal government of Rio de Janeiro paid tribute to him, giving him name to the Mergulhão Billy Blanco, a construction project at the Trevo das Palmeiras (also known as the Cebolão) in the

Barra da Tijuca Barra da Tijuca () (usually known as Barra) is an upper-middle class neighborhood or bairro in the Rio de Janeiro#West Zone, West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, located in the western portion of the city on the Atlantic Ocean. Barra is well known ...

neighborhood.

Personal life

Blanco is the grandfather of singers and Lua Blanco.

Books

* MACEDO, Regina Helena - ''Tirando de Letra e Música'' - Editora Record -

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

- 224 pages- ISBN 85-01-04339-7 * MACEDO, Regina Helena - ''Florentino Dias: uma vida dedicada a música'' - Editora Record - 96 pages - ISBN 85-01-05652-9

References

External links

Billy Blanco Biography
on www.musicabrasileira.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Billy Brazilian architects 1924 births 2011 deaths People from Belém Musicians from São Paulo Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian bossa nova singers Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Portuguese-language singers of Brazil Brazilian people of Spanish descent 20th-century Brazilian male musicians 20th-century Brazilian composers 20th-century Brazilian architects 21st-century Brazilian male musicians 21st-century Brazilian composers