Cauby Peixoto

Many regard Cauby Peixoto as Brazil's finest vocalist. His velvety low timbre, shaped by Orlando Silva and Nat "King" Cole, produced a singular approach across an array of styles that encompassed playful cheesy boleros, mambo especially in the early 1970s, romantic sambas-canções where he excelled most with the major success "Conceição," and occasional forays into bossa nova and jazz. Over more than five decades of sustained popularity he continually refreshed his approach while preserving his distinctive presence and refining his interpretive depth. Numerous leading figures honored him by composing original material, among them Tom Jobim with "Oficina," Caetano Veloso with "Cauby! Cauby!," Jorge Benjor with "Dona Culpa," and Roberto Carlos/Erasmo Carlos with "Brigas de amor." Since 1951 he has issued more than 61 78 rpm discs, 51 LPs, and 20 CDs while also contributing vocals to over ten films.

Raised amid music, Cauby Peixoto counted a guitar-playing father and an uncle known as Nonô (Romualdo Peixoto); singer Ciro Monteiro was his cousin, and his siblings comprised pianist Moacyr Peixoto, trumpeter Arakén Peixoto, and singer Andyara. His first public performance occurred in 1949 at a novice radio program in Rio de Janeiro, after which he began nightclub work. The debut recording arrived in 1951 with the samba "Saia Branca" (Geraldo Medeiros). The following year he relocated to São Paulo, appearing in nightclubs and at Rádio Excelsior. His initial hit came in 1954 with "Blue Gardenia" (Bob Russel/Lester Lee, version by Antônio Almeida/João de Barro). That same year entrepreneur Di Veras recruited him for Rádio Nacional and implemented an American-style promotional plan. Roughly two years later Peixoto achieved mass-idol status through the samba-canção "Conceição" (Jair Amorim/Dunga). Additional successes of the period included "Nono Mandamento" (René Bittencourt/Raul Sampaio), "Prece de Amor" (René Bittencourt), "Ninguém É De Ninguém" (Humberto Silva/Toso Gomes/Luís Mergulhão), and "É Tão Sublime o Amor" (P. Francis Webster/Sammy Fain, version by Antônio Carlos).

Featured in Time and Life magazines, he was introduced to American audiences as Ron Coby, recording with Paul Weston and Percy Faith's orchestras. In 1959 he returned to the United States for fourteen months, cutting an English version of "Maracangalha" (Dorival Caymmi) titled "I Go." Between 1964 and 1968 he performed regularly with his siblings at the noted Drink nightclub and captured a live LP there with Leny Eversong. He claimed victory at the 1970 San Remo Festival (Italy) with "Zíngara" (R. Alberteli, version by Nazareno de Brito). From the late 1960s through the late 1970s he was viewed as outdated beside the energetic youth-oriented movements then dominant in Brazil. Responding to audience shifts, he cultivated a more theatrical and extravagant stage persona in dress and manner while adopting a more restrained, classical vocal delivery that restored public attention. Around 1979 he appeared on Elis Regina's album with "Bolero de Satã."

The commemorative LP Cauby! Cauby! (1980), marking twenty-five years in the profession, signaled a thorough renewal of his usual repertoire through material by Caetano Veloso, Roberto Carlos/Erasmo Carlos, and the hits "Loucura" (Joanna/Sarah Benchimol) and "Bastidores" (Chico Buarque). Steady success followed. Critics rediscovered him, and he shared honors with Ângela Maria at the 1993 Prêmio Sharp ceremony. Dionne Warwick, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Zizi Possi joined him on the 1995 CD Cauby Canta Sinatra.