Abel Silva is a

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian poet, composer, and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

best known for his books of poetry including "Berro em Surdina" and his collaborations as a lyricist with

Sueli Costa Sueli Correa Costa (25 July 1943 – 3 March 2023) was a Brazilian singer-songwriter and composer. Biography Born in Rio de Janeiro into a family of musicians, Costa grew up in Juiz de Fora, started playing the piano at the age of four, and lea ...

João Donato João Donato de Oliveira Neto is a Brazilian jazz and bossa nova pianist from Brazil. He first worked with Altamiro Carrilho and went on to perform with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto. Career A professional at the age of 15, Donato play ...

Dominguinhos José Domingos de Morais (12 February 1941 – 23 July 2013), better known as Dominguinhos, was a Brazilian composer, accordionist and singer. His principal musical influences were the music of Luiz Gonzaga, Forró and in general the music of the ...

João Bosco João Bosco de Freitas Mucci, known professionally as João Bosco () is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist. In the 1970s he established his reputation in ''música popular Brasileira'' (Portuguese: "Brazilian pop music") with lyricist ...

, Fagner,

Moraes Moreira Antônio Carlos Moreira Pires (July 8, 1947 – April 13, 2020), better known as Moraes Moreira , was a Brazilian musician and songwriter. During the 1970s he played guitar and sang in the band Novos Baianos, after which he embarked on a ...

and

Roberto Menescal Roberto Menescal (born October 25, 1937) is a Brazilian composer, record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and pioneer of bossa nova. In many of his songs there are references to the sea, including his best-known composition "O Barquinho" ("Little Bo ...

. Silva has won two " Prêmio da Música Brasileira" awards for his songs "Voz de mulher", co-written with

and recorded by

Edson Cordeiro Edson Cordeiro (born February 9, 1967) is a Brazilian sopranist countertenor and pop and jazz singer. Life and career Cordeiro was born in Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil. He began singing at 6 years old when he joined a church choir called " ...

, and "Sempre você", co-written with and recorded by

. Silva's songs have been recorded by

Elis Regina Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 2002), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and Pedro Mariano. She became national ...

, Simone,

Gal Costa Gal Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos; 26 September 1945 – 9 November 2022), known professionally as Gal Costa (), was a Brazilian singer of popular music. She was one of the main figures of the tro ...

, Morais Moreira, Fagner,

Emílio Santiago Emílio Vitalino Santiago (6 December 1946 – 20 March 2013), known as Emílio Santiago, was a Brazilian singer. Biography Early years Attending college at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Law School in the 1970s, where he graduated ...

, João Donato,

Zizi Possi Maria Izildinha "Zizi" Possi (, born March 28, 1956) is a Brazilian singer from São Paulo, the daughter of Italian immigrants. She sings in Portuguese, English, and Italian languages. In 2007, he sang at the opening of the Military World Games, ...

Luiz Gonzaga Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento (standard orthography 'Luís'; ; Exu, December 13, 1912 – Recife, August 2, 1989) was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, musician and poet and one of the most influential figures of Brazilian popular music in the twen ...

, Nélson Gonçalves and

Nara Leão Nara Lofego Leão (; January 19, 1942 – June 7, 1989) was a Brazilian bossa nova and MPB (popular Brazilian music) singer and occasional actress. Her husband was Carlos Diegues, director and writer of '' Bye Bye Brasil''. Life Leão was bor ...

, among others. Silva's lyrics include the Brazilian contemporary standard "Simples Carinho" written to João Donato's melody and harmonized by Donato for the recording by Angela Rô Rô. ''Raios de luz'', written with Cristóvão Bastos, was first recorded by Simone. It was the theme song for the Brazilian television series '' De Corpo e Alma'' and appeared in ''

Xou da Xuxa ''Xou da Xuxa'' ( en, Xuxa's Show, italic=yes) was a Brazilian children's television series directed by Marlene Mattos, and hosted by Xuxa Meneghel. It premiered on TV Globo between 30 June 1986 and 31 December 1992, with 2000 editions completed. ...

''. In 1999, the song was released by

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

, with the English lyrics " Let's Start Right Now"; ''Festa do interior'' (performed by Moraes Moreira) had more than 20 recordings outside Brazil.

Career

In the 1970s, Silva was a professor of Brazilian Literature at UFRJ and at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. During this time, he was the culture editor for the newspaper "Opinião". In 1975, he launched, with Capinam, the cultural magazine "Anima". In 2006, a public exhibition of 80 works of art inspired by popular Brazilian songs was displayed at the

Paço de São Cristóvão Paço de São Cristóvão (; en, Palace of Saint Christopher; also known as Palácio Imperial or Palácio Imperial de São Cristóvão) was an imperial palace located in the Quinta da Boa Vista park in the Imperial Neighbourhood of São Cristóv ...

Imperial Palace,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. The Brazilian artist

Adão Iturrusgarai Adão Iturrusgarai (born February 18, 1965) is a Brazilian cartoonist and comics artist. Biography Born in Cachoeira do Sul into a family of Basque origin, Iturrusgarai published his first drawing when seventeen years old, at Jornal do Povo, his h ...

, a cartoonist and comics artist, contributed his illustration of Abel Silva's lyrics "Simples Carinho" which read "I want to see you / because last night / daydreaming / I slept with you", with a daring design.

Humanitarian work

In 1995, Silva appeared as himself in the documentary '' Fome Zero'' a program created by the Brazilian federal government to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty. Silva, with his song "Simples Carinho", joined the artists contributing to the Abramas Project in donating percentages of their songs to professionals in need affected by the pandemic. In 2020, the first Abramas campaign, called the Humanitarian Artist Campaign, distributed more than 32 tons of food.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Abel Brazilian male poets 1945 births Brazilian male songwriters Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) Rio de Janeiro State University alumni 20th-century Brazilian poets 20th-century Brazilian male writers Male jazz musicians Living people