Marcos Valle

Marcos Valle was the Renaissance man of Brazilian pop, a singer/songwriter/producer who straddled the country's music world from the early days of the bossa-nova craze well into the fusion-soaked sound of '80s MPB. Though his reputation in America never quite compared to contemporaries like Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, or even Tom Zé, Valle is one of the most important and popular performers in the history of Brazilian pop. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1943, Marcos Valle studied classical music as a child but listened to many different types of music, especially jazz. He began writing songs with his brother Paulo Sérgio -- Marcos was the tune-writer, Paulo the lyricist -- in the early '60s, and after Tamba Trio found a hit with his "Sonho de Maria," Valle was named Brazil's Leading Composer of the Year at the age of 19. A recording contract soon followed, and in 1964 he released his first album, Samba Demais, for EMI Brazil. A tour with Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 the following year brought his first show-business connections in America (via Merv Griffin), and in 1966 Walter Wanderley took Valle's song "So Nice (Summer Samba)" into the US Top 40. Valle soon earned his own American contract, and in 1967 Warner Brothers released the instrumentals album Braziliance!. One year later, his Verve debut Samba '68 became a Brazilian classic thanks to simple, infectious pop songs like "Batucada," "Chup, Chup, I Got Away," and "Crickets Sing for Anamaria" (all of which featured spot-on harmony vocals by his wife Anamaria). Despite the incredible promise revealed by Samba '68, it was his last American album to date. That same year, the Brazilian-only Viola Enluarada became a big hit in South America, thanks in part to the title track (with vocals by a young Milton...