Agostinho dos Santos (April 25, 1932 – July 11, 1973) was a Brazilian singer and composer of

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovat ...

, MPB and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

, active from the early 1950s until his premature death in the crash of

Varig Flight 820 Varig Flight 820 was a flight of the Brazilian airline Varig that departed from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 11, 1973, for Orly Airport, in Paris, France. The plane, a Boeing 707, registration PP-VJZ, made an ...

in 1973, at the age of 41. Dos Santos is best known today for lending his voice to the soundtrack of the classic 1959 film ''

Orfeu Negro ''Black Orpheus'' (Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play ''Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Mora ...

''. He is also credited with playing a role in the development of the careers of other important Bossa Nova artists, such as

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto 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 was of ...

and

Milton Nascimento Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has toured across the world. Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...

. Dos Santos' voice was a baritone with bright coloring and a light vibrato, singing in a style called (in Portuguese) "crooner da orchestra".

Career

Agostinho dos Santos was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

, in the neighborhood called

Bela Vista Bela Vista (also known as ''Bexiga'' or ''Bixiga'') is one of the most traditional Italian neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It belongs to the borough of Sé, and it has been a mixed neighborhood since its beginning, where free ...

or Bixiga. One of his first jobs in music was singing at a taxi-dancing club called ''O maravilhoso'' in São Paulo. Early in his career, Dos Santos sang with the orchestra of Osmar Milani, and on a lunchtime radio program hosted by Manuel de Nóbrega on Radio Nacional. Dos Santos' first recordings were successes. The first, ''Vendedor de laranjas'' (Orange Seller) became widely popular in Brazil, while his second major hit, ''Meu benzinho'' was a Portuguese version of the song "My Little One" recorded in English by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final ...

. Also during this period Dos Santos successfully recorded a Portuguese version of the

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

hit "

See You Later Alligator "See You Later, Alligator" is a 1950s rock and roll song written and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Bobby Charles. The song was a Top Ten hit for Bill Haley and His Comets in 1956 in the United States, reaching no. 6 on ''Billboard ...

", "Até Logo, Jacaré." During 1959, Dos Santos frequently appeared on a music program featuring

Tom Jobim Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, called ''O bom Tom'', broadcast on TV Paulista in São Paulo. Dos Santos provided his voice to an important film of the Bossa Nova era, ''Orfeu Negro'' (''

Black Orpheus ''Black Orpheus'' ( Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play ''Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Mora ...

'') (1959), dubbing the songs sung by the lead character in the film (Orpheu), played by

Breno Mello Breno Higino de Mello (September 7, 1931 – July 11, 2008) was a Brazilian athlete and actor. He is primarily known for playing the title role in the 1959 film ''Orfeu Negro'' (''Black Orpheus''). Biography Mello was born in Porto Alegre, ...

. Dos Santos was selected to dub the part in preference to

, who also auditioned for the part, because the producers felt Dos Santos' voice sounded more black (Dos Santos was in fact black, and Gilberto was white). As a result of his work in the film, Dos Santos received offers to appear in music clubs, theaters, and on television worldwide. Dos Santos was a participant in the historic 1962 concert ''Bossa Nova at Carnegie Hall'', in which he enjoyed great success with the audience. A review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' cited Dos Santos' performance particularly, stating that his voice was the most beautiful voice of the decade. In 1963, he traveled with Jose Scatena, president of the RGE record label, on a visit that inaugurated the release of RGE offerings through the Argentinian record company Fermata. By 1964, Dos Santos was one of the highest paid television performers in Brazil. In 1971 he participated in the first Onda Nueva music festival in Venezuela. During his career, Dos Santos toured through the U.S., Italy, Germany, Portugal, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, and Mexico. He performed in the U.S. and in Brazil with

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

, and, in Italy, with

Caterina Valente Caterina Valente (born 14 January 1931) is a French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer of Italian ethnicity. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven. While she is best known as a performer in Europe, Valent ...

. Dos Santos appeared on TV in France, Portugal, England, and Belgium. His compositions include "Forças Ocultas" (with Antônio Bruno), "Sozinho Com Você" (with Dirce Morais/Heitor Canilo), "Chuva Para Molhar O Sol" (with Edison Borges), "Podem Falar" (with Renato Duarte), "Distância é Saudade," and "Quem Levou Maria."

Influence on Brazilian popular music

Bossa Nova historian Walter Silva states that it was Dos Santos who introduced João Gilberto to the rhythmic innovations of

Johnny Alf Alfredo José da Silva (May 19, 1929 – March 4, 2010), popularly known as Johnny Alf, was a Brazilian musician, sometimes known as the "Father of Bossa Nova".Larry Rohter"Johnny Alf, a Father of Bossa Nova, Dies at 80" ''The New York Times'', M ...

(Alfredo José da Silva), considered to be the father of Bossa Nova. Gilberto would go on to build an illustrious career on this stylistic foundation. In their history of Brazilian popular music, Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha credit Dos Santos with submitting the work of

to the 1967 Second Festival Internacional de Canção (FIC) (International Song Festival), resulting in Nascimento's work being accepted to the festival and triggering further growth in Nascimento's career. Dos Santos was also artistic director of the LP album of performances at the festival, which was issued by the Brazilian record company Codil.

Personal life and death

Dos Santos had three children. Dos Santos played soccer (futebol) for a team from his neighborhood in São Paulo called Boca Junior, and also for on a team composed of fellow musicians. Dos Santos was a passenger on

, traveling from

Galeão Airport Galeão (Portuguese meaning galleon) may refer to: *Galeão Air Force Base, a Brazilian Air Force base in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for ...

, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly ...

, Paris, France, on July 11, 1973, when a fire on board the airplane caused it to make an emergency landing in a field not far from the airport. Dos Santos was among the 123 fatalities.

Discography

During his career, Agostinho recorded for a variety of labels, including Polydor, RGE, Odeon, Continental, and Sinter. *"Rasga teu verso" (1953), Star 78 *"O vendedor de laranjas"/"A última vez que vi Paris" (1955), Polydor 78 *"Meu benzinho"/"Falam meus olhos" (1956), Polydor 78 *"Pula-pula"/"Vai sofrendo" (1956), Polydor 78 *"Canção do mar"/"Pif-paf" (1956), Polydor 78 *"Vagabundo e sonhador"/"Até logo, Jacaré" (1956), Polydor 78 *"As três Marias"/"Minha oração" (1957), Polydor 78 *"Doce mãezinha"/"Homenagem à minha mãe" (1957), Polydor 78 *"Chove lá fora"/"Triste a recordar" (1957), Polydor 78 *"Só você"/Maria dos meus pecados" (1957), Polydor 78 *"Maria Shangay"/"A saudade" (1957), Polydor 78 *"Concerto de outono"/"Esquecimento" (1957), polydor 78 *''Uma voz e seus sucessos'' (1957), Polydor LP *"Por causa de você"/"Tudo ou nada" (1958), Polydor 78 *"Estrada do sol"/"Do-ré-mi" (1958), Polydor 78 *"Sucedeu assim"/"Graças a Deus" (1958), Polydor 78 *"Crepúsculo"/"Segredo" (1958), Polydor 78 *"Deixe que eu possa esquecer"/"Se todos fossem iguais a você" (1958), Polydor285 78 *"Eu não existo sem você"/"Foi a noite" (1958), Polydor 78 *"Meu castigo"/"Doi muito mais a dor" (1958), RGE 78 *"

Chega de Saudade "Chega de Saudade" (), also known as "No More Blues", is a bossa nova jazz standard. It is often considered to be the first bossa nova song to be recorded. Like " The Girl from Ipanema", the music for "Chega de Saudade" was composed by Antônio C ...

"/"Balada triste" (1958), RGE 78 *''Agostinho Espetacular'' (1958), RGE LP *''Antonio Carlos Jobim e Fernando Cesar na voz de Agostinho dos Santos'' (1958), Polydor LP *''Agostinho dos Santos'' (1959), Polydor 33/10 pol. *"Ravina"/"Sem cessar" (1959), RGE 78 *"Canção de amor"/" A felicidade" (1959), RGE 78 *"Manhã de carnaval"/"A felicidade" (1959), RGE 78 *"Balada do homem sem Deus"/"Sede de amor" (1959), RGE 78 *''O inimitável Agostinho dos Santos'' (1959), RGE LP *"Cantiga de quem está só"/"Natureza morta" (1960), RGE 78 *"Leva-me contigo"/"Saudade querida" (1960), RGE 78 *"Muljer passarinho"/"Chuva para molhar o sol" (1960), 10255 *"Noite feliz"/"Verbo amar" (1960), RGE 78 *''Agostinho, sempre Agostinho'' (1960), RGE LP *"Nossos momentos"/"Distância é saudade" (1961), RGE 78 *"És meu amor"/"Ave amor" (1961), RGE 78 *''Agostinho canta sucessos'' (1961), RGE LP *"Graças"/"Eu e tu" (1962), RGE 78 *"Suave é a noite"/"Aqueles olhos verdes" (1962), RGE 78 *''A presença de Agostinho'' (1962), RGE LP *''Os grandes sucessos de Agostinho'' (1962), RGE 5136 *"Noche de luna"/"Recuerdos de ti" (1963), RGE 78 *"Samba em prelúdio" (1963), RGE 78 *"Noite de lua"/"Amor" (1963), RGE 78 *''Vanguarda'' (1963), RGE LP *''Agostinho dos Santos'' (1966), Elenco LP *''Música nossa'' (1967), Ritmos Codil LP *''Os grandes sucessos de Agostinho dos Santos'' (1967), Premier LP *'tinho dos Santos'' (1970), London/Odeon LP *''Agostinho dos Santos'' (1973), Continental LP *''Agostinho dos Santos'' (1974), Phonogram/Polyfar LP *''Agostinho dos Santos'' (1977), RGE LP *''Agostinho dos Santos (Edição Histórica) – Vol. 5'', Série Medium /D Polydor LP *''As melhores interpretações de Agostinho dos Santos'' nt. 1980 SBA LP *''Os mais lindos boleros'' (1978), LP *''Série convite para ouvir'' (1993), LP *''A voz incomparável de Agostinho dos Santos'' (1997), Copacabana CD

Filmography

Dos Santos appeared on screen in at least one film, called ''Operação dinamite'' (Operation Dynamite). In that film, produced in Portugal in 1967, dos Santos appeared as himself.Peter Cowie (ed.), ''World Filmography 1967'', Cranbury, NJ: A.S. Barnes & Co. Inc. (1977), , p. 474.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Agostinho Dos 1932 births 1973 deaths Singers from São Paulo Brazilian male singer-songwriters Bossa nova singers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1973 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers