Gal Costa

Gal Costa stood at the heart of Brazil’s Tropicália movement in the 1960s and later became a revered singer who embodied her nation’s buoyant musical spirit across the following decades.

She began performing as a vocalist and violão player while still young. A job at a record store allowed her to absorb countless hours of music, above all the work of João Gilberto. Introduced to Caetano Veloso in 1963, she joined him the next year when he was asked to assemble a Brazilian popular music evening for the inauguration of Salvador’s Teatro Vila Velha. The resulting program, Nós, por Exemplo, brought together Caetano, his sister Maria Bethânia, Gilberto Gil, and Costa. Its success prompted a second presentation two weeks later, now including Tom Zé. Larger audiences attended, and the original quartet—minus Tom—soon mounted another show, Nova Bossa Velha, Velha Bossa Nova.

On September 26, 1965, the same artists opened Arena Canta Bahia at São Paulo’s Teatro de Arena. Late that year Costa finally met her idol João Gilberto, who invited her to sing while he accompanied her; after several numbers he told her, “Girl, you sing beautifully. Someday I will return to record an album only with you.” Also in 1965 she contributed “Sol Negro” (Caetano Veloso) to Bethânia’s debut album. In 1966 she cut a single for RCA and performed the Gilberto Gil/Torquato Neto song “Minha Senhora” on TV Rio’s I FIC. The following year she and Caetano released their first joint LP, Domingo. Two tracks she recorded in 1968 for the Tropicália: Ou Panis Et Circensis manifesto—“Mamãe Coragem” and “Baby”—became her earliest hits. That same year she won first prize at TV Record’s IV FMPB in São Paulo with “Divino Maravilhoso,” written by Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso.

Her first solo Philips album, Gal Costa, appeared in 1969. An intensive schedule of concerts throughout Brazil followed, and she recorded a second self-titled Philips set that year. Performances in England came in 1970; returning to Brazil the next year she made the Legal LP. The 1971 show Deixa Sangrar proved successful, and she joined João Gilberto and Caetano for a live TV Tupi broadcast. Her 1972 production A Todo Vapor was preserved on a double live album, and she shared stages with Gil and Caetano at numerous venues. In 1973 she appeared at MIDEM in Cannes and recorded the LP Índia, drawn from the accompanying show. She reunited with Caetano, Gil, and Bethânia for the 1976 album Os Doces Bárbaros and a series of concerts under the same name, while also releasing the solo collection Gal Canta Caymmi. Four additional albums followed before the decade ended.

International tours in the 1980s took her to Japan, France, Israel, Argentina, the U.S., Portugal, Italy, and other countries. The 1984 show O Sorriso do Gato de Alice—also the title of her twentieth album—earned an APCA award and the Shell Prize. Thirty years of her career were celebrated in 1997 with the Acústico MTV CD and video on BMG, featuring numerous guest artists. Polygram issued the three-CD box 30 Anos de Barato in 1998, and the double-disc set Gal Canta Tom Jobim: Ao Vivo appeared the following year.

Costa remained active and productive well into the twenty-first century, issuing new recordings even as earlier material continued to be reissued. Abril released Gal Boss Tropical in 2002, followed three years later by Hoje from Trama Records. Gal Costa Live at the Blue Note came out on DRG in 2006. She reunited with Caetano Veloso for the 2011 album Recanto, collaborated with his son Moreno and Kassin on 2013’s Estratosférica, duetted with fellow Brazilian legend Maria Bethânia on 2018’s A Pele do Futuro, and worked with another of Veloso’s sons, Zeca, on 2021’s Nenhuma Dor. That album marked her final release; she died in early November 2022.