Nora Ney (born Iracema de Sousa Ferreira,

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 ...

, March 20, 1922 – Rio de Janeiro, October 2003) was a Brazilian singer. She is also the most notable singer of the

samba-canção Samba-canção (; literally 'song samba') is, in its most common acceptance or interpretation, the denomination for a kind of Brazilian popular songs with a slow-paced samba rhythm. History It appeared after the World War II, at the end of the ...

music style and a pioneer of the

Brazilian rock Brazilian rock refers to rock music produced in Brazil and usually sung in Portuguese language, Portuguese. In the 1960s, it was known as , the Portuguese transcription of the line "Yeah, yeah, yeah" from the Beatles song "She Loves You". Overv ...

Biography

Ney first approached music by playing guitar by herself. Her father, in order to motivate her, offered the instrument as a birthday gift. Along with

Maysa Matarazzo Maysa Figueira Monjardim (June 6, 1936 – January 22, 1977), better known as Maysa Matarazzo, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, performer and actress. She is also associated with Bossa nova music but is widely known as a torch song (''foss ...

Ângela Maria Angela Maria (13 May 1929 – 29 September 2018), the stage name of Abelim Maria da Cunha, was a Brazilian singer and actress. She was elected "Queen of the Radio" in 1954 and was considered the most popular singer of that decade in Brazil. Dis ...

and

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 ...

, Ney is considered one of the greatest

singers who became popular in the 30s. Her music was often compared to ''bolero'' for the featured exaltation and exploration of romantic love or the suffering of an unrequited love affair was also called "''elbow ache''" (''jealousy'', ''heart ache''). Samba-canção preceded bossa nova but came from American jazz and had more refined, gentle and soft melodies and interpretations, in detriment of those resented, melancholic ones. "Nina Ney was melodramatic and yet emotionally cool at the same time," noted musicologist Bryan McCann of her style. She began her career in 1950 and in 1953 was already one of the greatest singers of the Brazilian Radio Era, interpreting

Dorival Caymmi Dorival Caymmi (; April 30, 1914 – August 16, 2008) was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, actor, and painter active for more than 70 years, beginning in 1933. He contributed to the birth of Brazil's bossa nova movement, and several of his samb ...

, Noel Rosa,

Ary Barroso Ary Evangelista de Resende Barroso (Portuguese pronunciation: ; 7 November 1903 – 9 February 1964) was a Brazilian composer, pianist, soccer commentator, and talent-show host on radio and TV. He was one of Brazil's most successful songwriters ...

, and

Antonio Carlos Jobim Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

. In 1952 she recorded her first LP for the

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

Continental Records, titled ''Menino da rua''. Despite being a notable samba-canção interpreter, Nora Ney became one of the pioneers of the Brazilian rock by recording the first rock LP in the country: the Brazilian version of "

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...

" by

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

(soundtrack of ''Sementes da Violência'' movie) in October 1955. After only one week, the song became a hit, and began a trend for Brazilian singers making covers of rock songs. Ney's second marriage was to singer Jorge Goulart; their daughter, Vera Lúcia, became Miss Brazil in 1963. Ney was forced into exile after the

1964 Brazilian coup d'état The 1964 Brazilian coup d'état () was the overthrow of Brazilian president João Goulart by a military coup from March 31 to April 1, 1964, ending the Fourth Brazilian Republic (1946–1964) and initiating the Military dictatorship in Brazil, ...

due to Goulart's political involvement with the

Communist Party of Brazil The Communist Party of Brazil (, PCdoB) is a List of political parties in Brazil, political party in Brazil. The PCdoB officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist theory. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and Student ...

Discography

* ''Menino grande/Quanto tempo faz'' (1952) Continental 78 * ''Amor, meu grande amor/Ninguém me ama'' (1952) Continental 78 * ''Luzes da ribalta/Felicidade'' (1953) Todamérica 78 * ''De cigarro em cigarro/Onde anda você'' (1953) Continental 78 * ''Índia/Preconceito (1953) Continental'' 78 * ''Bar da noite/É tão gostoso seu moço'' (1953) Continental 78 * ''Deixa-me'' (1953) Continental 78 * ''Que saudade é esta/Canção de Portugal'' (1954) Continental 78 * ''Que saudade é esta/Canção de Portugal'' (1954) Continental 78 * ''Aves daninhas/O que foi que eu fiz'' (1954) Continental 78 * ''Duas lacraias/Solidão'' (1954) Continental 78 * ''Gosto, gosto de você/Não diga não'' (1955) Continental 78 * ''Vou de tamanco/Se a saudade me apertar...'' (1955) Continental 78 * ''Madrugada, três e cinco/Vamos falar de saudade'' (1955) Continental 78 * ''Doce mãezinha/Ó meu papai'' (1955) Continental 78 * ''O morro/Dois tristonhos'' (1955) Continental 78 * ''Ronda das horas/Ciuminho grande'' (1955) Continental 78 * ''Por que choras?/Meu lamento'' (1955) Continental 78 * ''Quatro motivos/Sem ninguém'' (1955) Todamérica 78 * ''Palavra de rei'' (1955) Todamérica 5593 * ''Canta Nora'' Ney (1955) Continental LP * ''Eu ri de choar/Quando o amor vai embora'' (1956) Continental 78 * ''Só louco/Não há mais segredo'' (1956) Continental 78 * ''Rififi/Eu vivo tão só'' (1956) Continental 78 * ''Se o negócio é sofrer/Não vou chorar'' (1957) Continental 78 * ''Franqueza/Eu e Deus'' (1957) Continental 78 * ''Saudade da Bahia/Chove lá fora'' (1957) Continental 78 * ''São dois loucos/Eu sofro tanto'' (1957) Continental 78 * ''Duas notas, nada mais/Quem é ela?'' (1958) Continental 78 * ''Vai, mas vai mesmo/Castigo'' (1958) RCA Victor 78 * ''Solidão/Pra falar com meus botões'' (1958) RCA Victor 78 * ''Nora Ney'' (1958) RCA Victor LP * ''Sorria/Muito agradecida'' (1959) RCA Victor 78 * ''Meu amor não me deixou/Canção do mal que faz bem'' (1959) RCA Victor 78 * ''Razões/Duas almas'' (1959) RCA Victor 78 * ''Você nasceu pro mal/Teleco teco nº 2'' (1960) RCA Victor 78 * ''Mentira/Saudade mentirosa'' (1960) RCA Victor 78 * ''Ninguém me ama'' (1960) RCA Victor LP * ''Desencontro/Pra que voltar?'' (1961) Continental 78 * ''João da Silva/E a vida continua...'' (1962) Mocambo 78 * ''Mundo diferente/Hora final'' (1963) Mocambo 78 * ''Mudando de conversa'' (1968) LP * ''Tire seu sorriso do caminho, que eu quero passar com a minha dor'' (1972) Som Livre LP * ''Jubileu de prata - Nora Ney e Jorge Goulart'' (1977) Som Livre LP * ''Meu cantar é tempestade de saudade'' (1987) 3M LP * ''As eternas cantoras do rádio'' (1991) CID CD * ''Nora Ney'' (1993) BMG CD * ''Mestres da MPB'' - Nora Ney (1994) CD * ''Acervo especial'' - Nora Ney (1994) * ''A música brasileira deste século por seus autores e intérpretes'' (2000) CD * ''Amor, meu grande''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ney, Nora 1922 births 2003 deaths Brazilian contraltos Brazilian composers Brazilian women composers English-language singers from Brazil Singers from Rio de Janeiro (city) 20th-century Brazilian women singers 20th-century Brazilian singers