Alcione Dias Nazareth (born November 21, 1947) is also known as, "Alcione", and "A Marrom" (English: "the brown one") is a Brazilian samba singer. She first gained international recognition in the late 1970 and has had nineteen gold records, as well as five platinum and double platinum records. In 1987, she dedicated the song ''João de Deus'' (John of God) to Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

and 500,000 people during his second visit to

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 ...

Biography

She was born in

São Luís, Maranhão São Luís (, ''Saint Louis'') is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The city is located on Upaon-açu Island (Big Island, in Tupi Language) or Ilha de São Luís (''Saint Louis' Island''), in the Baía de São ...

. Her father was a military musician who worked as the conductor of the corps marching band. Alcione was introduced to traditional Brazilian music by her father. At the age of thirteen, she was already performing at college parties. At the same time, she began studying the clarinet and the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

. At age 20, Alcione moved to

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 ...

. There, she worked at the city's TV Excelsior and later went on tour in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

for four months. After returning to

, she settled in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, working in nightclubs and making appearances on television. In 1970, she started her two-year tour in Europe, performing as a vocalist and a trumpet player. In 1972, when back in

, Alcione recorded her first single. The following year, she traveled to sing in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and, in 1974,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, where she recorded her first full-length album. In 1975, Alcione released her LP, ''A Voz do Samba'', which achieved gold sales status and featured several hit tracks. The most successful songs were "Não Deixe o Samba Morrer", written by Edson and Aloiso, and "O Surdo", written by Totonho and Paulinho Resende. In the late 1970s, Alcione became well known as a samba artist and achieved international recognition. She recorded ''Alerta Geral'' for

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in ...

and, in 1978, released this album—the title of which was taken from a television show that Alcione had hosted on TV Globo for two years. Following its success, Alcione continued to release several other full-length albums in late 1970s and early 1980s, including her self-titled album. In 1997, Alcione signed with

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, subsequently releasing a debut album titled, ''Valeu'', through Polygram the next year. This was followed by ''Celebração'' that same year, and ''Claridade---Uma Homenagem A Clara Nunes'' in 1999. In December 2002, Alcione was recognized for playing an important part in founding the Paraíso School of Samba in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

.Paraiso School of Samba London UK – News – Alcione
/ref> She also helped organize and prepare the stage for a British version of the ''Carnival Brasil, Paraíso dos Orixás'' (Brazil, Paradise of the Orishas). Her 2002 album, ''Ao Vivo'', received the Best Samba/Pagode Album Award at the fourth

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

ceremony in 2003. She has had several hits, such as "Não deixe o samba morrer", "Lá vem você", "Gostoso veneno", and "Ilha da maré". On July 7, 2007 she performed at the Brazilian leg of

Live Earth Live Earth was an event developed to increase environmental awareness through entertainment. Background Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, ''Live Earth'' was built upon the be ...

Discography

Universal Music / Philips

* ''A Voz do Samba'' (1975) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Morte de um poeta'' (1976) * ''Pra que chorar'' (1977) (400,000 - Platinum) * ''Alerta geral'' (1978) * ''Gostoso veneno'' (1979) * ''E vamos à luta'' (1980) * ''Alcione'' (1981) * ''Dez anos depois'' (1982)

Sony BMG / RCA

* ''Vamos arrepiar'' (1982) * ''Almas e corações'' (1983) * ''Da cor do Brasil'' (1984) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Fogo da vida'' (1985) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Fruto e raiz'' (1986) (700,000 - Platinum) * ''Nosso nome: resistência'' (1987) (250,000 - Platinum) * ''Ouro & Cobre'' (1988) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Simplesmente Marrom'' (1989) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Emoções Reais (1990)'' * ''Promessa'' (1991) * ''Pulsa, coração'' (1992) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Brasil de Oliveira da Silva do Samba'' (1994) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Profissão: Cantora'' (1995) * ''Tempo de Guarnicê'' (1996)

Universal Music / Polygram

* ''Valeu - Uma Homenagem à Nova Geração do Samba'' (1997) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Celebração'' (1998) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Claridade'' (1999) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Nos Bares da Vida'' (2000) - ao vivo (250,000 - Platinum) * ''A Paixão tem Memória'' (2001) (100,000 - Gold)

Indie Records

* ''Ao Vivo'' (2002) (250,000 - Platina) * ''Ao Vivo 2'' (2003) (250,000 - Platina) * ''Faz Uma Loucura por Mim'' (2004) (250,000 - Platina) * ''Faz Uma Loucura por Mim - Ao Vivo'' (2005) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Alcione e Amigos'' (2005) * ''Uma Nova Paixão'' (2005) (100,000 - Gold) * ''Uma Nova Paixão - Ao Vivo'' (2006) (50,000 - Gold) * ''Coleções - Grandes Sucessos de Alcione'' (2007) * ''De Tudo Que eu Gosto'' (2007) * ''Raridades'' (2008) * ''Acesa'' (2009) (30,000) * ''Acesa - Ao Vivo em São Luiz do Maranhão'' (2009) (20,000) * ''Duas Faces - Jam Session'' (2011, October 28, on "HSBC Brasil") (20,000) * ''Duas Faces: Ao Vivo na Mangueira'' (2012) (20,000) * ''Eterna Alegria'' (2013) (8,000) * ''Eterna Alegria - Ao Vivo'' (2014) (5,000)

References

External links

* Alcionefrom

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Official website (in Portuguese)Alcione: National Geographic World Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazareth, Alcione 1947 births Latin Grammy Award winners Living people People from São Luís, Maranhão Samba musicians 20th-century Brazilian women singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 21st-century Brazilian women singers 21st-century Brazilian singers Women in Latin music