Gérson Rodrigues Côrtes , known as Gerson King Combo (30 November 1943 – 22 September 2020) was a Brazilian

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

singer-songwriter. Born in

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 ...

, he began his career in performing on the variety program ''Hoje é Dia de Rock''. He founded and performed in the 1960s musical group Formula 7. He was also a key person in the 1970s

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

movement Black Rio. In the mid-1970s, with the growth of the dance club scene in the Rio suburbs, the Black Rio movement gained national notoriety and, with the interest of the record companies in the new sound, Gérson managed to record his two most successful records - Gerson King Combo, 1977, and Gerson King Combo - Volume II, 1978 - achieving radio and dance club hits with "Mandamentos Black", "God Save the King", "Funk Brother Soul" and "Good Bye". As the movement waned, Gérson abandoned his artistic career and began working as an event producer. He was rediscovered in the late 1990s and began to perform and record again, releasing two more albums. He is considered one of the main names in Black Brazilian music, along with

Tim Maia Tim Maia (, born Sebastião Rodrigues Maia; September 28, 1942 – March 15, 1998) was a Brazilian musician, songwriter, and businessman known for his iconoclastic, ironic, outspoken, and humorous musical style. Maia contributed to Brazilian mus ...

, Hyldon and Cassiano. Côrtes died on 22 September 2020 in Rio de Janeiro from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

References

{{Authority control People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian male songwriters Brazilian writers Brazilian soul singers Deaths from diabetes 2020 deaths 1943 births Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil)