Over a quarter-century as a singer and composer, during which he logged five decades as a working musician and issued more than 27 solo albums, Bezerra da Silva scored successes with “Bicho Feroz” (Tonho/Cláudio Inspiração), “Malandragem, Dá Um Tempo” (Adelsonilton/Popular P/Moacir Bombeiro), “Overdose de Cocada” (Dinho/Ivan Mendonça), and “Rei do Coco.” Jackson do Pandeiro cut five of his compositions: “Leve o Teu Gererê,” “Meu Veneno,” “Criando Cobra,” “Preguiçoso,” and “Mandau Velho.” His voice, steeped in the malandragem of Rio’s hills, chronicled the daily struggles of favela residents and the surrounding climate of violence and drugs long before gangsta rap, a sensibility that crystallized once he began recording for CID. Genaro, of the group Nosso Samba, brought him into the label; there he cut the three-volume set Partido Alto Nota 10 (1977–1978), which established him as the hills’ unofficial chronicler. “Pega Que Eu Sou Ladrão,” released on that series, earned him nationwide recognition.
From boyhood he played zabumba and sang coco in his native Pernambuco. At fifteen he moved to Rio and settled on Cantagalo hill. In 1950 Rádio Clube do Brasil hired him as a staff musician, where he accompanied numerous leading artists. He joined Orquestra Copacabana Discos in São Paulo in 1960 and later performed with Orquestra da TV Globo throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Marlene recorded his “Nunca Mais,” written with Norival Reis, in 1965. Four years afterward he made his own recording debut on Copacabana with the single “Viola Testemunha” (Bezerra da Silva/Jorge Garcia/Almir Delfino) backed by “Manã Cadê Meu Boi” (Jorge Peçanha/Bezerra da Silva), the latter winning a partido alto festival in São Paulo. Although his roots lay in Carioca samba, the A&R director at Tapecar required that his first two LPs, Bezerra da Silva – O Rei do Coco (1975) and Bezerra da Silva – o Rei do Coco, Vol. 2 (1976), focus on the coco style native to Pernambuco. The following year marked a turning point: he began to follow his individual artistic direction and achieved national prominence as a partido alto singer and composer.
