Roberto Carlos Braga (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁoˈbɛʁtu ˈkaʁlus]; born 19 April 1941) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, also known as "King of Brazilian Music" or simply "the King". Most of his songs were written in partnership with his friend Erasmo Carlos (no relation). With over 140 million albums sold worldwide, Roberto Carlos is the best-selling Latin American music artist in history. He is considered one of the most influential artists in Brazil, being cited as a source of inspiration by many artists and bands. His net worth is estimated at US$160 million.
Contents
Early life
Roberto Carlos Braga was born in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, at the southern part of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. He is the fourth and last son of watchmaker Robertino Braga (27 March 1896 – 27 January 1980) and seamstress Laura Moreira Braga (10 April 1914 – 17 April 2010). The family lived in a modest home on top of a hill in the Nook neighbourhood. His siblings were Lauro Roberto Braga, Carlos Alberto Moreira Braga and Norminha. At age six, during the feast of St Peter, the patron saint of Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, Roberto Carlos was hit by a steam locomotive and had to have his right leg amputated just below his knee. He still uses a prosthesis, but avoids talking about it.
As a child he learned to play the guitar and the piano – first with his mother and later at the Itapemirim Music Conservatory. At nine years old, he performed for the first time at a children's show broadcast by Rádio Cachoeiro (he sang a bolero called "Mal Amor"). He won candies as the first prize. Years later, he recalled the occasion for the book Roberto Carlos Up Close, by Paulo Cesar de Araujo: "I was very nervous, yet very happy to be able to sing on the radio. I got a lot of candies, which was the prize for the kids who'd sing there. It was a beautiful day." He became a regular performer on that particular show.
Career
1960s
Influenced by his idol Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock revolution. In 1957, Tim Maia, Carlos, Arlênio Silva, Edson Trindade and Wellington started the vocal group The Sputniks. After a disagreement between Tim and Roberto, the group was disbanded. In the 60s, Carlos became known for the musical movement known as Jovem Guarda (or Young Guard), which was a rip off from another TV Show. From the same name "Jovem Guarda" was the first manifestation of the Brazilian pop rock movement. Since then, Roberto Carlos has been called "O Rei" (the King).
When his first single and first LP (Louco por você, 1961) were commercial failures, Roberto Carlos was in danger of being fired from CBS in favor of Sérgio Murilo, the first successful rock singer in Brazil. Nevertheless, Murilo was fired instead for clashing with musical director Evandro Ribeiro over repertoire and payment, opening up space for Roberto Carlos. During his first decade of recording, Roberto Carlos also starred in a few motion pictures directed by Roberto Farias, many of them inspired by the Beatles movies.
Jovem Guarda
Roberto Carlos insisted on investing time in young music, rock, and in 1962 released Splish Splash. With his friend Erasmo Carlos, Roberto recorded Portuguese versions of pop songs and wrote his own songs, such as "Parei Na Contramão" which became a hit. The following year the singer was back on the charts with the album É Proibido Fumar, in which, besides the title track, the highlight was the song "O Calhambeque". Thus was born the Jovem Guarda (TV Show).
Nationally known, Roberto Carlos began to host the Jovem Guarda TV program in 1965 at TV Record, along with Erasmo Carlos and Wanderléa. The program further popularized the pop rock movement in Brazil and established the singer, who became one of the first idols of the young Brazilian culture. Also in 1965, the albums Roberto Carlos Canta Para A Juventude – with hits "A Estoria do Homem Mau (Old Man Moses)," "Os Sete Cabeludos", "Eu Sou Fã Do Monoquini" and "Eu Não Quero Ver Você Triste" partnerships with Erasmo Carlos –and Jovem Guarda with the hits "Quero Que Vá Tudo Pro Inferno", "Lobo Mau", "O Feio" (Getúlio Cortes) and "Não É Papo Pra Mim" were released.
In 1966, Carlos presented the programs "Roberto Carlos à Noite", "Opus 7", "Jovem Guarda em Alta Tensão" e "Todos os Jovens do Mundo", at TV Record, all of them short-lived. That year would be marked by a fight that nearly ended the partnership between him and Erasmo. The reason for the split was a failure of production of the "Show in Si Monal ..." TV Record, which paid homage to Erasmo. The production was to present a pot-pourri of Erasmo's most famous compositions, including "Parei na Contramão" and "Quero Que Vá Tudo Pro Inferno". The controversy was created because of these songs were composed in partnership with Roberto Carlos, but the credits were given only to Erasmo. The two quarreled, and the partnership was suspended for more than one year. During this period, Roberto wrote "We There Yet?" and "Namoradinha de Um Amigo Meu" were released on the LP "Roberto Carlos" that year (the album still had the hits "Eu Te Darei O Céu", "Esqueça", "Negro Gato" (Getúlio Cortes) and "Nossa Canção" (Luiz Ayrão).
1970s and 1980s
The 1970 decade was marked by the end of the Jovem Guarda and the bolstering the prestige of Roberto Carlos as a romantic artist in Brazil and abroad (USA, Europe and Latin America). The singer became the artist who would sell the most albums in the country. Several of his songs were recorded by other artists such as Julio Iglesias, Caravelli and Ray Conniff. In 1970, the singer made a successful series of shows in Canecão. Later that year, he launched his annual album, which brought such hits as "Ana", "Veste A Roupa Meu Bem" and "Jesus Cristo", a song which also marked his approach to religion.
The following year, Roberto Carlos a 300 km Por Hora, the last movie starring the singer, was released also a great national success. Also in 1971, another album was released, featuring the hits "Detalhes," "Amada Amante", "Todos Estão Surdos", "Debaixo dos Caracóis dos Seus Cabelos" (homage to Caetano Veloso) and "Como Dois E Dois" (Caetano). The 1972 album resonated with "A Montanha", "Como Vai Você", and "Quando As Crianças Saírem de Férias" in addition to being the first LP to reach the milestone of one million copies sold, and in 1973, with "Rotina" and "Proposta". On 24 December 1974, TV Globo aired a special show with singer, which got huge ratings. From that year, the program would be aired at the end of each year. That same year, he released another album, with hits like "O Portão" and "Eu Quero Apenas".
The 1975 album had a hit with "Além do Horizonte" and a remake of his 1965 song "Quero Que Vai Tudo Pro Inferno". The following year the singer would record the new LP in the CBS Studios in New York. The album spawned the songs "Ilegal, Imoral e Engorda" and "Os Seus Botões". In 1977, Roberto Carlos released his annual album, with hits like "Amigo" (an homage to Erasmo Carlos), "Muito Romântico" (Caetano Veloso) and "Cavalgada" and reached #1 on the charts. The following year, another annual album was released, which featured the songs "Café da Manhã", "Força Estranha" (Caetano Veloso) and "Lady Laura" – a song dedicated to his mother. The album sold 1,500,000 copies. In addition to albums that sold more than 1 million copies a year, Roberto Carlos's shows were also popular; in 1978, the singer toured the country for six months, always with packed houses. When Pope John Paul II visited Mexico in 1979, he was greeted with the song "Amigo", sung by a choir of children. The event was broadcast live to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Roberto also engaged in support of the UN International Year of the Child.
In the early 1980s, he took part in another campaign, this time for the International Year of the Disabled. In 1981, the singer made international tours and recorded the first album in English – others would be released in Spanish, Italian and French. He also recorded the annual album, which featured hits like "Emoções", "Cama e Mesa" and "As Baleias". In 1982, Maria Bethânia participated in the yearly album, the duet "Amiga." It was the first time the singer invited another artist to participate in the recordings on the disc. Roberto Carlos (1982) also had the hit song "Fera Ferida", another collaboration with Erasmo.
1990s and 2000s
Carlos continued to record through the 1990s, focusing on romantic songs. In the mid-1990s a retro-Jovem Guarda wave hit Brazil, and Carlos—who was considered a has-been amongst a younger generation familiar only with his romantic and sentimental hits directed at a middleaged audience—had his importance cited by younger musicians such as Cássia Eller, Adriana Calcanhotto, Chico Science e Nação Zumbi, Barão Vermelho and Skank. Skank also recorded Rei, a tribute to Roberto Carlos with his classic hits from the heyday of the Jovem Guarda epoch.
In 1992 he left his name on the Latin artist Walk of Fame in Miami in the United States. In 1994, Roberto Carlos managed to beat the Beatles' sales in Latin America, selling over 70 million records. In 1996, Roberto Carlos scored another success in partnership with Erasmo Carlos, Mulher de 40, and recorded along with Julio Iglesias, Gloria Estefan, Plácido Domingo, Ricky Martin, Jon Secada among others, the song in Spanish, "Puedes Llegar", the theme of the Atlanta Olympics in the United States. In 1997, he launched the Spanish-language album Canciones Que Amo.
In 1998, Carlos's second wife, Maria Rita, discovered she had cancer (she would die in 1999). After a one-year break, Roberto Carlos returned to recording and performing. In 2001, he broke his contract with Sony (formerly CBS), the recording company through which he had released a vast majority of his albums, due to reasons connected to his wife's death. However, in a 2008 interview, Roberto Carlos stated that he had no intention of retiring from the music industry anytime soon and released an album later that year. In 2004, Carlos was awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was later recognized as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year in 2015.
In December 2006, "Duetos" a CD with 14 tracks and a DVD with 16 numbers was released, which had taken of the special moments recorded for the Globo since the 1970s. Later that year Roberto Carlos won the Latin Grammy for best romantic music album (album Roberto Carlos, 2005). In the same period, the publisher Planeta launched the book Roberto Carlos em Detalhes, by Paulo Cesar de Araujo, an unauthorized biography about the singer, a result of 16 years of research and with testimonies of about 200 people who participated in the career of Roberto. Roberto Carlos repudiated the publication, claiming that there is untruth in it, and announced his intention to withdraw the work from circulation. The court ruled for Roberto Carlos and the book Roberto Carlos em Detalhes was pulled from stores at the end of February 2007. On 27 April 2007, after a long hearing at the Criminal Forum of Barra Funda, São Paulo, all copies of the book were recalled.
2010s to present
His mother Laura Moreira Braga died on 17 April 2010, at age 96. The news of her death was given minutes after a Roberto Carlos's concert at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Through the 2010s, Roberto Carlos continued his yearly cruise ship concert project, "Emoções em Alto Mar" (Emotions in the High Seas). In the second half of 2011, the singer also held a concert in the city of Jerusalem, titled "Emoções em Jerusalem".
Roberto Carlos was paid homage by the Beija-Flor samba school in the 2011 Carnival parade.
In 2013, "Esse Cara Sou Eu" won the Best Brazilian Song and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2013 Latin Grammy Awards. In 2015, he received the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award and was recognized Person of the Year by the Latin Recording Academy. Roberto Carlos received the Excellence Award at the 2019 Lo Nuestro Awards.
50th career anniversary
On 11 July 2009, to celebrate his 50th career anniversary, Roberto Carlos performed a major show at Maracanã Stadium. It was his first presentation in the stadium. The estimated audience was about 70,000 people.
Roberto Carlos's 50th career anniversary was also celebrated with a major exhibition in the Lucas Nogueira Garcez Pavilion, located in Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo. The interactive expo, opened on 4 March 2010, portrayed the singer's life and career. The young poet and composer Gabriel Ataide Lima, says in its influences that Roberto Carlos was one of the largest, and thanks to his music, he realized that "poetry has to be sweet, pure, direct, and lively. Speaking of themes love it ... no grueling things I learned from Roberto Carlos. Besides singing themes like nature, religion and life in peace. "
Discography
Mostly in Portuguese; some songs in Spanish, English and Italian. As the majority of Roberto Carlos's albums are simply self-titled, the most significant hit of each album is also indicated.
1961 - Louco Por Você
1963 - Splish Splash
1964 - É Proibido Fumar
1965 - Canta Para a Juventude
1965 - Canta a la Juventud
1965 - Jovem Guarda
1966 - Roberto Carlos ("Eu Te Darei O Céu")
1967 - Roberto Carlos em Ritmo de Aventura
1968 - O Inimitável
1969 - Roberto Carlos ("As Flores do Jardim da Nossa casa")
1970 - Roberto Carlos ("Ana")
1971 - Roberto Carlos ("Detalhes")
1972 - Roberto Carlos ("A Janela")
1972 - Un gato en la oscuridad
1973 - Roberto Carlos ("A Cigana")
1973 - En español ("La distancia")
1974 - Roberto Carlos ("Despedida")
1974 - El día que me quieras
1975 - Roberto Carlos ("Quero Que Va Tudo Pro Inferno")
Billboard charts
https://www.billboard.com/artist/roberto-carlos/chart-history/htl/
Si el Amor Se Va (#1)
Abre las Ventanas al Amor (#1)
Si Piensas, Si Quieres (#1)
Negra (#2)
Si Me Vas a Olvidar (#2)
Pajaro Herido (#2)
Amor Perfecto (#5)
Se Divierte y Ya No Piensa en Mí (#5)
De Corazón a Corazón (#7)
Mujer Pequeña (#8)
Tengo Que Olvidar (#9)
Tristes Momentos (#11)
Mujer (#13)
Mis Amores (#21)
Adónde Andarás Paloma (#25)
Por Ella (#29)
Contradicciones (#30)
Símbolo Sexual (#35)
Filmography
Feature films
1968 – Em Ritmo de Aventura
1970 – O Diamante Cor De Rosa
1971 – A 300 km Por Hora
Live concert films
2001 – Acústico MTV
2001 – Acústico Gold Serie Limitada
2004 – Pra Sempre Ao Vivo no Pacaembu
2006 – Antologia (CD + DVD)
2006 – Duetos
2008 – Roberto Carlos ao Vivo (CD + DVD)