Biography
Ciro Monteiro ranked among the foremost interpreters of samba across several decades. An amateur vocalist at the outset, he accepted an invitation in 1933 from Sílvio Caldas to step in for Luís Barbosa within Caldas’s duo on Programa Casé, yet the abrupt need to dissolve his existing partnership with his brother Careno prompted immediate second thoughts and a request for release from the engagement. By 1934 he had rejoined the airwaves, this time at Mayrink Veiga, where his standing rose sharply in 1936 when he joined the station’s premier roster alongside Carmen Miranda, Francisco Alves, Noel Rosa, Aurora Miranda, Luís Barbosa, Patrício Teixeira, Mário Reis, and fellow leading artists.
Leaving Mayrink Veiga the following year to work independently across every major broadcaster, he scored an immediate breakthrough with the Lupicínio Rodrigues–Felisberto Martins composition “Se Acaso Você Chegasse,” captured for Victor in 1938 to widespread acclaim. He subsequently rejoined Mayrink Veiga and wed Odete Amaral; that same period also marked his emergence as a composer in steady collaboration with Dias da Cruz, their most celebrated piece being “Madame Fulano de Tal.”
Further successes followed in rapid succession: 1939 brought “Mania da Falecida” (Ataulfo Alves/Wilson Batista) and “Que Vida É Essa?” (Nássara/Roberto Martins); 1940 yielded “Beijo Na Boca” (Ciro de Souza/Garcez), “Bonito Papel, Hem?” (Nássara/Dunga), and “Tá Maluca?” (Wilson Batista/Germano Augusto); 1941 produced the Carnival-contest winner “O Bonde de São Januário” (Ataulfo Alves/Wilson Batista), “Os Quindins de Laiá” (Ary Barroso), and “A Mulher Que Eu Gosto” (Wilson Batista/Ciro de Sousa); 1942 added “Regra Do Bom Viver” (Estanislau Silva/Humberto Carvalho), “Fonte Do Amor” (Sinval Silva), and “Botões De Laranjeira” (Pedro Caetano); and 1944 delivered one of his signature recordings, “Falsa Baiana” (Geraldo Pereira). He remained at Mayrink Veiga until 1949, when he moved to Rádio Nacional, returning to his former station in 1950. Another hit, “Escurinho” (Geraldo Pereira), arrived in 1953.
In 1956 Monteiro made his sole foray into acting, portraying Apolo, the father in Vinícius de Moraes’s Orfeu da Conceição, a stage work later adapted for the screen by Marcel Camus and received with international acclaim. The 1961 LP Senhor Samba, containing four of his own compositions, swept every major award that year. Back at Mayrink Veiga, he expanded into television, appearing on Elizeth Cardoso’s program Bossaudade, whose performances were issued as an LP on the Copacabana label. He next released Senhor Samba, Vol. 2 and launched the highly successful variety show Telecoteco, Opus No. 1, documenting its repertoire on a matching album.
The 1968 LP Mudando de Conversa united him with Clementina de Jesus and Nora Ney after their well-received stage presentation of the same name. In 1971 he recorded De Leve with Jorge Veiga. Two further tracks—“Que Martírio!” (Haroldo Lobo/Milton de Oliveira) and his own “Você Errou”—surfaced on the 1974 collection Toquinho, Vinícius e Amigos.
Leaving Mayrink Veiga the following year to work independently across every major broadcaster, he scored an immediate breakthrough with the Lupicínio Rodrigues–Felisberto Martins composition “Se Acaso Você Chegasse,” captured for Victor in 1938 to widespread acclaim. He subsequently rejoined Mayrink Veiga and wed Odete Amaral; that same period also marked his emergence as a composer in steady collaboration with Dias da Cruz, their most celebrated piece being “Madame Fulano de Tal.”
Further successes followed in rapid succession: 1939 brought “Mania da Falecida” (Ataulfo Alves/Wilson Batista) and “Que Vida É Essa?” (Nássara/Roberto Martins); 1940 yielded “Beijo Na Boca” (Ciro de Souza/Garcez), “Bonito Papel, Hem?” (Nássara/Dunga), and “Tá Maluca?” (Wilson Batista/Germano Augusto); 1941 produced the Carnival-contest winner “O Bonde de São Januário” (Ataulfo Alves/Wilson Batista), “Os Quindins de Laiá” (Ary Barroso), and “A Mulher Que Eu Gosto” (Wilson Batista/Ciro de Sousa); 1942 added “Regra Do Bom Viver” (Estanislau Silva/Humberto Carvalho), “Fonte Do Amor” (Sinval Silva), and “Botões De Laranjeira” (Pedro Caetano); and 1944 delivered one of his signature recordings, “Falsa Baiana” (Geraldo Pereira). He remained at Mayrink Veiga until 1949, when he moved to Rádio Nacional, returning to his former station in 1950. Another hit, “Escurinho” (Geraldo Pereira), arrived in 1953.
In 1956 Monteiro made his sole foray into acting, portraying Apolo, the father in Vinícius de Moraes’s Orfeu da Conceição, a stage work later adapted for the screen by Marcel Camus and received with international acclaim. The 1961 LP Senhor Samba, containing four of his own compositions, swept every major award that year. Back at Mayrink Veiga, he expanded into television, appearing on Elizeth Cardoso’s program Bossaudade, whose performances were issued as an LP on the Copacabana label. He next released Senhor Samba, Vol. 2 and launched the highly successful variety show Telecoteco, Opus No. 1, documenting its repertoire on a matching album.
The 1968 LP Mudando de Conversa united him with Clementina de Jesus and Nora Ney after their well-received stage presentation of the same name. In 1971 he recorded De Leve with Jorge Veiga. Two further tracks—“Que Martírio!” (Haroldo Lobo/Milton de Oliveira) and his own “Você Errou”—surfaced on the 1974 collection Toquinho, Vinícius e Amigos.