"''País Tropical''" ("Tropical Country") is a song composed by Brazilian singer and composer

Jorge Ben Jor Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes (born March 22, 1939) is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben (). His characteristic style fuses samba, ...

. The song was originally recorded by singer

Wilson Simonal Wilson Simonal de Castro, was a Brazilian singer, born in Rio de Janeiro on February 23, 1938. He died in São Paulo on June 25, 2000. He was a singer with great success in the 1960s and in the first half of the 1970s. He was married two times a ...

on 22 July 1969. It was released the following month, and became the biggest hit of the singer's career. In December of that year two more versions of the song were released: One by

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 ...

(on her 1969 album ''Gal''), and one by composer Jorge Ben Jor (on his self-titled album ''Jorge Ben''). Over the years, the song came to be more and more associated with its author, Jorge Ben Jor, overshadowing the success of Simonal's original recording. The song has also been adapted by many composers and singers, including

Sergio Mendes Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Ser ...

, Maurício Manieri, Ivete Sangalo,

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

and

Claudia Leitte Cláudia Cristina Leite Inácio (; born 10 July 1980) is a Brazilian singer and television personality. She rose to fame in late 2002 as the lead vocalist of the Axé music group Babado Novo. The group achieved a string of consecutive diamond- ...

. It was also re-recorded by

himself, on his 1977 album ''Tropical''.

Wilson Simonal's version

In July 1969, Jorge Ben took Wilson Simonal, his friend, to a Gal Costa concert, with whom the former was having an affair.Alexandre, Ricardo. ''Nem vem que não tem: a vida e o veneno de Wilson Simonal''.

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 ...

: Globo, 2009. . In that concert, Gal sang "''País Tropical''". Simonal loved the song, and learned from Ben that the song was to be recorded by Costa. Simonal booked a studio and, on July 22, 1969, took Jorge Ben there, where his band (Sound Three formed by

César Camargo Mariano César Camargo Mariano (born 19 September 1943) is a Brazilian pianist, arranger, composer and music producer. Biography Mariano was born in São Paulo. In June 1957 the American trombone player Melba Liston invited thirteen-year-old Mariano to p ...

on the piano, Toninho on drums and Sabá on bass, plus Chacal on percussion) was already waiting for him. Upon arriving, the singer made Jorge Ben show the song to Camargo. Simonal and Camargo came up with an arrangement that removed entire stanzas and included an encore in which only the first syllables of the words were pronounced. Thus, "''Moro num país tropical''" became "''Mó- num pa- tropi-''". Camargo also put a coda in which he appropriated the lyrics of "''Eu Sou Flamengo''" by Pedro Caetano, which had been recorded by Jorge Veiga in 1954. This eventually led to a lawsuit in which the author gained rights over this version of the song. Released in August 1969, the song quickly became a huge success. It coincided with the nationalistic spirit of ufanismo used by the

military regime A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

in its propaganda. This would reinforce Simonal's later reputation as an informer; the same did not happen with Jorge Ben.Alonso, Gustavo. ''Quem não tem swing morre com a boca cheia de formiga: Wilson Simonal e os limites de uma memória tropical''.

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

: Record, 2011. .

Jorge Ben's recordings

Composed by Jorge Ben, the song was released as part of his self-titled album ''

Jorge Ben Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes (born March 22, 1939) is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben (). His characteristic style fuses samba, ...

'' (1969), one of his most successful albums. Over the years, the song became the biggest success of Jorge Ben's career. In 1977, Ben re-recorded the song for his studio album, ''Tropical''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pais Tropical 1969 songs Brazilian songs Songs about Brazil Portuguese-language songs