Dolores Durán

Dolores Durán wrote immortal classics of the fossa repertory, like "Se É por Falta de Adeus" (with Tom Jobim), recorded by Doris Monteiro. Other of her classics are "Por Causa de Você," "Estrada do Sol" (both with Jobim), "Fim de Caso," "Solidão," "Castigo," and, with Ribamar, "Pela Rua," "Ternura Antiga," and "Idéias Erradas." Her songs were recorded by artists such as Frank Sinatra ("Por Causa de Você" version "Don't Ever Go Away" on his LP Sinatra & Company), Milton Nascimento ("A Noite do Meu Bem"), Tito Madi ("Ternura Antiga"), Gal Costa ("Estrada do Sol"), Maysa ("Por Causa de Você"), Nana Caymmi (the dedicated CD A Noite do Meu Bem/As Canções de Dolores Durán), Marisa Gata Mansa, Lúcio Alves, Maria Bethânia, and several other important interpreters. Durán was known primarily as a singer during her short life, and had success both in Brazil and in her seasons abroad in Paris, France, Argentina, Uruguay, and the former U.S.S.R. At ten, she participated in Ary Barroso's famous novice show Calouros em Desfile. Praised by the severe critic, she started to appear in several other shows. Urged by economic hardships after her father's demise (when she was 12), she became a professional, working at Rádio Tupi (Rio de Janeiro) and in juvenile plays at the Teatro Carlos Gomes. Her ease in singing songs in several idioms helped open her way in radio and frequent appearances in this medium brought her an invitation to perform at the Vogue nightclub when she was 16, which was also when she adopted her stage name. At that prestigious club, she was noticed by César de Alencar, who invited her to his show at the Rádio Nacional. Having performed in the best nightclubs of her time and by then being very popular among artists and audiences, Durán recorded her first album in 1951,...