Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 2002), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of
MPB and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
music. She is also the mother of the singers
Maria Rita
Maria Rita (; born 9 September 1977, São Paulo) is a Brazilian singer. Born Maria Rita Camargo Mariano, she is the daughter of famed pianist/arranger César Camargo Mariano and the late Brazilian singing legend Elis Regina and sister to Ped ...
and
Pedro Mariano
Pedro Mariano, born Pedro Camargo Mariano, (born São Paulo April 18, 1975) is a Brazilian musician. He is the son of Brazilian singer Elis Regina and pianist Cesar Camargo Mariano, and the brother of Maria Rita
Maria Rita (; born 9 Septe ...
.
She became nationally renowned in 1965 after singing "Arrastão" (composed by
Edu Lobo
Eduardo de Góes "Edu" Lobo (born August 29, 1943) is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and composer.
In the 1960s he was part of the bossa nova movement.
His compositions include ''Upa Neguinho'' (with Gianfrancesco Guarnieri), ''Pra Dizer Ad ...
and
Vinícius de Moraes
Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwrigh ...
) in the first edition of
TV Excelsior
Rede Excelsior was a Brazilian television network founded by Mário Wallace Simonsen on July 9, 1960, in São Paulo, São Paulo. Its last broadcast happened on September 30, 1970, when the Brazilian military dictatorship put an abrupt end to ...
festival song contest and soon joined ''O Fino da Bossa'', a television program on
TV Record
RecordTV (), formerly known as Rede Record, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It is currently the second largest commercial TV station in Brazil, and the 28th largest in the 2012 world ranking. In 2010, it was elected by the adverti ...
. She was noted for her vocalization as well as for her interpretation and performances in shows. Her recordings include "Como Nossos Pais" (
Belchior), "Upa Neguinho" (E. Lobo and
Gianfrancesco Guarnieri
Gianfrancesco Sigfrido Benedetto Marinenghi de Guarnieri (August 6, 1934 – July 22, 2006) was an Italian–Brazilian actor, lyricist, poet and playwright. He was a key participant in the Arena Theater of São Paulo, his most important work was ...
), "Madalena" (
Ivan Lins
Ivan Guimarães Lins (born June 16, 1945) is a Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian musician. He has been an active performer and songwriter of Brazilian popular music (MPB) and jazz for over thirty years. His first hit, "Madalena", was recorded by ...
), "Casa no Campo" (
Zé Rodrix and Tavito), "
Águas de Março
"Waters of March" ( pt, "Águas de março" ) is a Brazilian song composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927–1994) in 1972. Jobim wrote both the Portuguese and English lyrics. The lyrics, originally written in Portuguese, do not tell a story, but r ...
" (
Tom Jobim
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
), "Atrás da Porta" (
Chico Buarque
Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...
and
Francis Hime
Francis Hime (Rio de Janeiro, August 31, 1939) is a Brazilian composer, arranger, pianist and singer. He is the composer of the jazz standard ''Minha / All Mine'', recorded, among others, by Bill Evans, Tony Bennett and Eliane Elias
Eliane El ...
), "O Bêbado e a Equilibrista" (
Aldir Blanc
Aldir Blanc Mendes (2 September 1946 – 4 May 2020) was a Brazilian author of ''crônicas'' (journalistic vignettes, chronicles) and lyricist. He co-composed many songs with singer-songwriter João Bosco, guitarist Guinga, and others.
Career ...
and
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 ...
), "Conversando no Bar" (
Milton Nascimento
Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
He has toured across the world.
Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...
).
Her untimely death, at the age of 56, shocked Brazil.
Her son Gabriel Borges Zamperetti became an economist and currently lives in Dubai
Biography
Elis Regina was born in
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
, where she began her career as a singer at an early age on the children's radio show ''Clube de Guri''.
In her early teens she signed a record contract and a couple years later traveled to Rio de Janeiro, where she recorded her first album.
She won her first festival song contest in 1965 singing "Arrastão" ("Pull the Trawling Net")
by
Edu Lobo
Eduardo de Góes "Edu" Lobo (born August 29, 1943) is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and composer.
In the 1960s he was part of the bossa nova movement.
His compositions include ''Upa Neguinho'' (with Gianfrancesco Guarnieri), ''Pra Dizer Ad ...
and
Vinícius de Moraes
Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwrigh ...
, which made her the biggest selling Brazilian recording artist since
Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, (; born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, 9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the late 1920s onwards. Nicknamed "The B ...
. Her second album, ''Dois na Bossa'' with
Jair Rodrigues
Jair Rodrigues de Oliveira (February 6, 1939 – May 8, 2014) was a Brazilian musician and singer. He is the father of Luciana Mello and Jair Oliveira, who also followed in his footsteps and became musicians.
Biography
Born in Igarapava, Rodr ...
, set a national sales record and became the first Brazilian album to sell over one million copies. "Arrastão" increased her popularity because the festival was broadcast via TV and radio. The record represented the beginning of
música popular brasileira
Música popular brasileira (, ''Popular Brazilian Music'') or MPB is a trend in post-bossa nova urban popular music in Brazil that revisits typical Brazilian styles such as samba, samba-canção and baião and other Brazilian regional music, com ...
(Brazilian popular music) and contrasted with bossa nova. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she helped popularize
tropicalismo with
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 ...
,
Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration ...
, and
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...
.
In 1999 she had her first and only son, Gabriel Zamperetti.
Regina was nicknamed "hurricane" and "little pepper".
She moved to Rio around the time Brazil was ruled by a military group.
Although her popularity protected her from reprisal when she criticized the regime while on tour in Europe, she was threatened with imprisonment unless she sang the Brazilian national anthem at an event honoring the anniversary of the coup.
In the 1970s she recorded the album ''Elis and Tom'' in Los Angeles with
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...
.
In 1982 she was starting her third marriage when she died from a combination of alcohol and cocaine at the age of thirty-six.
Death
On January 19, 1982, Regina died at the age of 56 from a
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
after consuming
vermouth
Vermouth (, ) is an aromatized fortified wine, flavoured with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid- to late 18th centur ...
,
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
and
tranquilizers
A tranquilizer is a drug that is designed for the treatment of anxiety, fear, tension, agitation, and disturbances of the mind, specifically to reduce states of anxiety and tension.
Etymology
Tranquilizer, as a term, was first used by F.F. Yonkm ...
. More than 15,000 fans attended a musical wake in the Teatro Bandeirantes in São Paulo. She was buried in
Cemitério do Morumbi
Cemitério do Morumbi (Morumbi Cemetery) is a cemetery in São Paulo, Brazil. It is located in the affluent neighborhood of Morumbi.
Notable interments
* Ronald Golias – Brazilian comedian
* Marly Marley – Brazilian actress
* Elis Reg ...
.
She was portrayed by
Andréia Horta
Andréia de Assis Horta (born 27 July 1983) is a Brazilian actress. Horta was born in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais.
Career
Horta played the role of Renata in the Rede Record's telenovela Alta Estação, and played the role of Beatriz in Chama ...
in the 2016 movie "Elis" directed by Hugo Prata.
Studio albums
Live albums
In life
Posthumous
References
Further reading
* Arashiro, Osny. ''Elis Regina por ela mesma''. M. Claret, 1995.
* Echeverria, Regina (1985) ''Furacão Elis.'' Inclui cronologia e discografia por Maria Luiza Kfouri. Rio de Janeiro: Nórdica / Círculo do Livro. 363p. 2.ed. rev. ampl. 1994 (São Paulo: Ed. Globo); 3.ed. 2002 (São Paulo: Ed. Globo). 239p.
* Goés, Ludenbergue. ''Mulher brasileira em primeiro lugar: o exemplo e as lições de vida de 130 brasileiras consagradas no exterior''. Ediouro Publicações, 2007.
* Kiechaloski, Zeca (1984) ''Elis Regina.'' Col. Esses Gaúchos. Porto Alegre: Tchê! 101p.
* Pugialli, Ricardo. ''Almanaque da Jovem guarda: nos embalos de uma década cheia de brasa, mora?''. Ediouro Publicações, 2006.
* Sarsano, José Roberto. (2005) ''Boulevard des Capucines.'' Teatro Olympia, Paris 1968: Elis Regina e Bossa Jazz Trio em uma época de ouro da MPB. Ed. Árvore da Terra. 207p.
* Silva, Walter. ''Vou te contar: histórias de música popular brasileira''. Conex, 2002.
* ''Elis Regina Por Ela Mesma.'' (1995) Org. Osny Arashiro. São Paulo: Martin Claret. 2.ed. rev. 2004. 229p.
* ''O Melhor de Elis Regina.'' (2003) Melodias cifradas com as letras de 28 músicas do repertório de Elis Regina. Ed. Irmãos Vitale. 112p.
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regina, Elis
1945 births
1982 deaths
20th-century Brazilian women singers
20th-century Brazilian singers
Bossa nova singers
Brazilian mezzo-sopranos
Brazilian people of Portuguese descent
Brazilian people of indigenous peoples descent
Drug-related deaths in Brazil
Música Popular Brasileira singers
People from Porto Alegre
Women in Latin music