Armando António Capelo Diniz da Gama (1 April 1954 – 17 January 2022) was a Portuguese singer-songwriter and baritone opera singer, whose physical trademark for decades was his shoulder-length jet black hair.

Life and career

Gama grew up in

Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...

, an overseas territory of Portugal by then, and lived there until the age of 17. Upon moving to mainland Portugal in 1971, he scored the first of many No. 1 hits on the Portuguese music charts. He was well-versed in performing piano and

solfège In music, solfège (, ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, pitch and sight-reading of Western music. Solfège is a form of solmization, though the tw ...

, having studied them at the

music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

Luanda Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

until he was a teenager. In his decades-long music career, he sold over five million records in Portugal alone. He became well-known internationally performing at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1983 The Eurovision Song Contest 1983 was the 28th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Munich, then West Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" by Nicole. Despite their first vic ...

, singing the song " Esta balada que te dou," ranking 13th out of 20 countries. Gama still performed in his later years, and presented a live show called "Armando Gama: The Fifth Beatle," in which he performed cover versions of well-known songs by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. Gama died of pancreatic cancer at

Instituto Português de Oncologia Francisco Gentil The Instituto Português de Oncologia Francisco Gentil, also known as the Instituto Português de Oncologia (I.P.O.), Portuguese for Portuguese Oncology Institute, is a state-run cancer hospital and research organization in Portugal. The I.P.O. has ...

in Lisbon on 17 January 2022, at the age of 67.Cancro mata Armando Gama aos 67 anos
(in Portuguese)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gama, Armando 1954 births 2022 deaths Colonial people in Angola Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Portugal Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1983 People from Luanda Portuguese pop singers Portuguese Roman Catholics Deaths from cancer in Portugal Deaths from pancreatic cancer