Beth Carvalho

Beth Carvalho
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'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, 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 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.
Her social music often concerned the poor and the Indigenous peoples in Brazil
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)
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