Luís Gil Bettencourt (born June 26, 1956) is a Portuguese-American musician, songwriter, and music producer.

Early life

Luís Gil Mendes Bettencourt was born in 1956 in the town of

Praia da Vitória Praia da Vitória (; translating as "Beach of Victory") is a municipality in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. With a population of 21,035 (in 2011), the second largest administrative authority on the island of Terceira, it covers an are ...

, on Terceira Island of the Azores. He is one of ten children of Ezequiel Mendes Bettencourt and Aureolina da Cunha Gil de Ávila, who were both from musical backgrounds, Ezequiel being a professor of music. His younger brother is American musician

Nuno Bettencourt Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. Bettencourt has recorded a solo album and has founded rock bands including ...

, and his niece is Australian actress

Bebe Bettencourt Bebe Bettencourt (; stylised as BeBe; born 2 February 1996) is an Australian actress, known for playing Hedwig in the streaming service Stan's Australian TV series '' Eden'' (2021) and Eleanor "Ellie" Deacon in the film '' The Dry'' (2020). ...

Musical career

As a youth, Bettencourt was known as "Luisinho da Praia da Vitória" and performed on stages across the Azorean islands. In 1971 the family emigrated to

Hudson, Massachusetts Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, with a total population of 20,092 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Before its incorporation as a town in 1866, Hudson was a ne ...

where Ezequiel opened a music shop. Bettencourt had planned to attend law school but was not successful in obtaining a scholarship, and so he focused on music. With brothers Roberto and Nuno, he formed a progressive rock band called Alien (later called Viking). Nuno had originally been the drummer, but Luís taught him to play the guitar. Bettencourt returned to Portugal in 1984, and in 1985 released his first solo album, ''Empty Space'', collaborating with the Gulbenkian Orchestra. Later in the decade he composed soundtracks for

RTP Açores RTP Açores is a Portuguese free-to-air regional television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) in the Autonomous Region of the Azores. It began broadcasting on 10 August 1975 from i ...

programmes and served as a musical director alongside José "Zeca" Medeiros. In 1989 Bettencourt moved back to Terceira Island, where he produced a TV film ''Vivências'' ("Experiences") and formed the traditional music group Cantinho da Terceira. He was involved in the creation of events such as the Azores cultural show at

Expo '98 Expo '98 (1998 Lisbon Specialised Expo) was an official specialised World's Fair held in Lisbon, Portugal from Friday, 22 May to Wednesday, 30 September 1998. The theme of the fair was "The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future", chosen in part to c ...

in Lisbon, creating for this purpose the Lira Açoriana regional orchestra to train young brass musicians in the islands. In 2013 he retired from solo touring for health reasons, but is involved in the musical career of his daughter, Maria.

Discography

Studio

*''Empty Space'' (1985) *"If There's a Reason" / "In-Out" (single) *"Tema d'Amor" (single) *''Bilingual'' (album) *''Antero'' (album) *''Viola de Dois Corações... A Minha Viola'' (EP) (2017)

As producer

*''Açores, Um Convite'' (1985), Victor Cruz *''Monte Formoso'' (1989), Brigada Víctor Jara *''A Primeira Vez'' (1992), Grupo de Violas da Ilha Terceira *''Azul'' (1997), Carlos Medeiros *''O Cantar Na M'Incomoda'' (1998), Carlos Medeiros *''Dança das Fitas'' (2000), Carlos Medeiros *''Susana Coelho & Trio'' (2000), Susana Coelho & Trio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bettencourt, Luis Portuguese male singer-songwriters Portuguese singer-songwriters Portuguese guitarists Male guitarists 1956 births People from Praia da Vitória People from Hudson, Massachusetts Living people American people of Portuguese descent