Elizabeth "Beth" Santos Leal de Carvalho (May 5, 1946 – April 30, 2019) was a Brazilian
samba singer,
guitarist,
cavaquinist and composer.
Biography
Carvalho was raised in a middle-class family in
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 ...
's
South Zone. Her father, João Francisco Leal de Carvalho, was a lawyer. She grew up influenced by different types of music. Her father used to take her to samba school rehearsals, and her mother was a lover of classical music who encouraged her to become a ballerina. She started playing the guitar as a teenager, and got involved with the emerging
Bossa Nova movement, winning a nationwide song contest on TV at the age of 19.
Following a 1967 album, "Muito Na Onda," with the project 'Conjunto 3D,' Carvalho did her first solo record, 1968's "Andança", and carried the song of the same name to victory in a larger festival, which brought her to prominence. Although she started her career with Bossa Nova, that was an ephemeral phase which lasted less than one year. Beth started dedicating herself entirely to
samba just as her fame began, working with legendary composers such as Nelson Sargento.
Carvalho is a very important artist in the history of samba, as she celebrated and brought the spotlight to the work of legendary composers such as
Cartola,
Nelson Cavaquinho &
Guilherme de Brito when they weren't receiving the attention they deserved. Almost all of her records have songs by these composers, among other legendary ''sambistas'' such as Nelson Sargento and the
Old Guard of Portela. Her samba school was
Mangueira, but that didn't stop her from recording dozens of songs from composers of
Portela, the other great traditional samba school in Rio.
Later, in the late 1970s and early 80s, Beth helped bring to the public the work of other rising
pagode artists from Cacique de Ramos, such as
Almir Guineto,
Jorge Aragão and the
Fundo de Quintal group. Then, in 1983, she introduced
Zeca Pagodinho who would become the major samba name of the 90s. Carvalho always tried to bring underrated composers the recognition they deserve, and she is regarded as ''madrinha do samba'' (the godmother of samba). She was a driving force in the modernization of samba in the 80s, and at the same time rejected commercial pop trends in samba arrangements, preserving tradition.
In the 1990s, Beth's popularity wasn't the strongest, but she was always popular. She recorded an album dedicated to the samba from
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 ...
, rejecting the famous axiom that "São Paulo is the grave of samba". In 1998 she recorded an album dedicated entirely to the
pagode classics, ''Pérolas do Pagode'' (Pagode Pearls).
In the new millennium, Beth worked more than ever, releasing CDs and DVDs. With a career that spanned 40 years, she was a historical figure in Brazilian culture, and recognized as the female sambista with the most substantial opus in Brazil, without diminishing other stars as
Clara Nunes and
Daniela Mercury.
Beth Carvalho is depicted in the 2022
documentary film
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
''Andança - Os encontros e as memórias de Beth Carvalho'', directed by Pedro Bronz.
Trivia
* Beth was a known supporter of both the
Botafogo and
Clube Atlético Mineiro football teams
* Beth was one of the main personalities of the samba school
Mangueira
* Beth had a variety of hits in the 1970s, with her 1979 song "Coisinha Do Pai" being one of her biggest hits. The song was inserted into the
Mars Pathfinder
''Mars Pathfinder'' was an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a rover (space exploration), roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a Lander (spacecraft), lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a ligh ...
.
* Her social music often concerned the poor and the
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
Indigenous peoples in Brazil or Native Brazilians () are the peoples who lived in Brazil before European contact around 1500 and their descendants. Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples once comprised an estimated 2,000 distric ...
Discography
* ''Beth Carvalho – 40 anos de Carreira – Ao Vivo no Theatro Municipal – Vol.1 (CD)'' – Andança/Sony – BMG – 2006
* ''Beth Carvalho – 40 anos de Carreira – Ao Vivo no Theatro Municipal – Vol.2 (CD)'' – Andança/Sony – BMG – 2006
* ''Beth Carvalho – 40 anos de Carreira – Ao Vivo no Theatro Municipal (DVD)'' – Andança/Sony – BMG – 2006
* ''Beth Carvalho – A Madrinha do Samba – Ao Vivo (DVD)'' – Indie – 2004
* ''Beth Carvalho – A Madrinha do Samba – Ao Vivo (CD)'' – Indie – 2004
* ''Beth Carvalho Canta Cartola'' – BMG – 2003
* ''Nome Sagrado – Beth Carvalho Canta Nelson Cavaquinho'' – Jam Music – 2001
* ''Pagode de Mesa Ao Vivo 2'' – Universal Music – 2000
* ''Pagode de Mesa Ao Vivo'' – Universal Music – 1999
* ''Pérolas do Pagode'' – Globo / Polydor – 1998
* ''Brasileira da Gema'' – Polygram – 1996
* ''Beth Carvalho Canta o Samba de São Paulo'' – Velas – 1993
* ''Pérolas – 25 Anos de Samba'' – Som Livre – 1992
* ''Ao Vivo no Olympia'' – Som Livre – 1991
* ''Intérprete'' – Polygram – 1991
* ''Saudades da Guanabara'' – Polygram – 1989
* ''Alma do Brasil'' – Polygram – 1988
* ''Beth Carvalho Ao Vivo (Montreux)'' – RCA – 1987
* ''Beth'' – RCA – 1986
* ''Das Bençãos Que Virão Com os Novos Amanhãs'' – RCA – 1985
* ''Coração Feliz'' – RCA – 1984
* ''Suor no Rosto'' – RCA – 1983
* ''Traço de União'' – RCA – 1982
* ''Na fonte'' – RCA – 1981
* ''Sentimento Brasileiro'' – RCA – 1980
* ''Beth Carvalho no Pagode'' – RCA – 1979
* ''De Pé No Chão'' – RCA – 1978
* ''Nos Botequins da Vida'' – RCA – 1977
* ''Mundo Melhor'' – RCA – 1976
* ''Pandeiro e Viola'' – Tapecar – 1975
* ''Pra Seu Governo'' – Tapecar – 1974
* ''Canto Por Um Novo Dia'' – Tapecar – 1973
* ''Andança'' – Odeon – 1969
References
External links
Entrevista 1988 (In Portuguese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvalho, Beth
1946 births
2019 deaths
Democratic Labour Party (Brazil) politicians
Samba musicians
Latin Grammy Award winners
Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
20th-century Brazilian women singers
20th-century Brazilian singers
21st-century Brazilian women singers
21st-century Brazilian singers
Women in Latin music