João Só

Composer of the hit "Menina da Ladeira," which inspired dozens of re-recordings by numerous artists, João Só relocated to Salvador during childhood. There he developed into a self-taught musician, taking up the guitar and cavaquinho at a very young age and appearing on the novice program Hora da Criança broadcast by Rádio Cultura da Bahia. By fifteen he was working professionally, performing on violin, double bass, and various percussion instruments in nightclubs. During the late '60s he joined the staff of TV Aratu. His solo career commenced in the early '70s when he joined an EMI promotional troupe touring northern and northeastern Brazil; he subsequently cut his signature success "Menina da Ladeira" for Odeon. The immediate popularity of the single generated offers to appear across Brazil and internationally. In 1972, following a joint engagement in Argentina alongside Paulo Diniz, João Só released the first of fourteen LPs. His brother and then-impresario Geraldo Magela later recounted that Carlos Imperial had suggested a promotional scheme featuring a stand-in to impersonate João Só, a tactic also applied to other major acts of the period. Their decision not to take part, Magela maintained, provoked reprisals from the influential producer. As a result, from that moment until Imperial's death, João Só's own rendition of the song vanished from Brazilian airwaves, although instrumental renditions and versions by other performers continued to receive airplay. He settled in São Paulo in 1978, where he presented live shows, then moved back to Salvador in 1984, the city where he died.