Five songs to know more about Aldir Blanc, the iconic Brazilian songwriter
On May 4 Brazil lost one of its greatest songwriters, Aldir Blanc, at the age of 73. During his 50-year career, the prolific artist from Rio de Janeiro wrote approximately 500 songs for singers such as Elis Regina, Chico Buarque, Djavan and Beth Carvalho, among others.
Additionally to his trajectory as a songwriter, he also recorded a solo album in 2005, when he was 59 years old. In such album the musician presents a pretty accurate summary of his works, showing a great combination of his influences with his ingeniousness.
To celebrate the life and work of Aldir Blanc, we prepared a list of five essential songs written by the artist that became big hits in the history of Brazilian music. Enjoy!
1. O Bêbado e a Equilibrista (1979)
The song was the result of the friendship between the Brazilian musician João Bosco and Aldir. They wrote the song as a tribute to Charles Chaplin. Singer Elis Regina recorded the song, which became an unofficial anthem of the Amnesty Law, when Brazilians exiled during the military dictatorship in Brazil were allowed to come back to the country.
2. O Rancho da Goiabada (1978)
Also recorded by Elis, the song refers to the daily routine of “boias-frias”, Brazilian follow-the-crop workers who work under precarious labor conditions. The lyrics show the reality of those poor people who, in order to escape the real world, indulge in their small pleasures in a world of inequalities.
3. Amigo É pra Essas Coisas (1970)
The first hit in Blanc’s career was the result of a partnership with Silvio da Silva Jr. The song became popular when recorded by the group MPB4 as a track of the album “Deixa Estar”, thus making clear to the whole country how talented with words Blanc was.
4. Saudades da Guanabara (1980)
In another successful partnership, Aldir wrote the song with Moacyr Luz, with whom he composed other songs in the ‘80s. The track became popular after being recorded by Beth Carvalho.
5. Vida Noturna (2005)
It was not before 2005, at the age of 59, that Aldir Blanc had his first solo album released. Accompanied by an acoustic guitar and a piano, the musician finally sang songs that were as amazing as his previous ones.