Biography
Composer of “Menina da Ladeira,” a song that later received dozens of reinterpretations by numerous performers, João Só relocated to Salvador during childhood. There he developed into a self-taught instrumentalist, taking up the guitar and cavaquinho at a very young age and appearing on Rádio Cultura da Bahia’s children’s program Hora da Criança. By fifteen he was already working professionally, performing on violin, double bass, and assorted percussion instruments in local nightclubs. During the late 1960s he joined the staff of TV Aratu. Solo career efforts commenced in the early 1970s when he joined an EMI promotional caravan that traveled through Brazil’s northern and northeastern regions; shortly afterward he cut his signature hit “Menina da Ladeira” for Odeon. The immediate popularity of the single generated offers for engagements across the country and overseas. In 1972, following a joint appearance in Argentina alongside Paulo Diniz, he entered the studio to record the first of fourteen LPs. His brother and then-manager Geraldo Magela later recounted that producer Carlos Imperial had floated a promotional scheme featuring a stand-in who would impersonate João Só, a plan also meant to involve other major artists of the era. Declining to take part, according to Magela, triggered punitive measures from the influential figure. Consequently, from that point until Imperial’s death, João Só’s own rendition of the song was largely absent from Brazilian airwaves, although instrumental covers and versions by other artists continued to receive airplay. In 1978 he moved to São Paulo to concentrate on live performances; six years later he returned to Salvador, where he passed away.
Albums