Biography
Jorge Goulart’s identity remains inseparable from the annals of Brazilian Carnival, where he built a prolific recording career marked by repeated commercial triumphs. He appeared in multiple motion pictures, the most significant being Nelson Pereira dos Santos’s Rio 40 Graus, in which he performed Zé Kéti’s 1955 standard “A Voz do Morro.” In 1964 he introduced the enduring Carnival anthem “Cabeleira do Zezé,” written by João Roberto Kelly and Roberto Faissal and subsequently replayed at countless Carnival balls. Additional seasonal successes included Wilson Batista and Nássara’s “Mundo de Zinco” from 1952, “Joga a Chave, Meu Amor” by J.R. Kelly and J. Rui, João de Barro’s “Mané Fogueteiro,” and “Couro de Gato,” credited to Grande Otelo, Rubens Silva, and Popó. Beyond his own hits, Goulart helped bring wider recognition to several samba-school composers, among them Elton Medeiros with “Exaltação a São Paulo,” Zé Kéti through the aforementioned “A Voz do Morro,” as well as Candeia and Silas de Oliveira.
His professional path began under the guidance of Custódio Mesquita, to whom his father had arranged an introduction; Goulart’s earliest interpretations were therefore Mesquita compositions. Regular appearances at the Eldorado dancing soon led to engagements at Rádio Tupi. Mesquita’s position as a director at Victor enabled the release of Goulart’s first 78 rpm disc in 1945. After the label dropped him following three unsuccessful releases, he formed a friendship with Ary Barroso, who supplied him with “Xangô,” co-written with Fernando Lobo; the song became his initial hit. The following year Goulart starred in the long-running production Um Milhão de Mulheres, which enjoyed a two-year engagement. A period spent in Porto Alegre preceded his return to Rio in 1949, when he recorded Wilson Batista and Antônio Almeida’s “Miss Mangueira” for the forthcoming Carnival. The popularity of his 1951 version of “Balzaqueana,” again by Wilson Batista and Nássara, secured an invitation to the prestigious Rádio Nacional, where he remained for fifteen years.
Goulart became the first vocalist to present Lupicínio Rodrigues’s “Vingança” in Rio’s nightlife; the song established the composer and was linked to several suicides, yet contractual obligations with RCA ultimately transferred the recording to Herivelto Martins. Among his numerous 1950s releases, one of the more distinctive projects was Elton Medeiros’s “Exaltação a São Paulo,” first heard during the 1954 Carnival. For the program Um Milhão de Melodias, Goulart recorded the piece with Radamés Gnattali’s arrangement for the sixty-piece Rádio Nacional orchestra augmented by ten matchboxes, an instrument drawn from informal samba gatherings. During the same decade he undertook tours of the former U.S.S.R., China, and various European nations. In February 1963 he introduced the bossa-nova march “Marcha da Quarta-Feira de Cinzas,” composed by Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes.
His professional path began under the guidance of Custódio Mesquita, to whom his father had arranged an introduction; Goulart’s earliest interpretations were therefore Mesquita compositions. Regular appearances at the Eldorado dancing soon led to engagements at Rádio Tupi. Mesquita’s position as a director at Victor enabled the release of Goulart’s first 78 rpm disc in 1945. After the label dropped him following three unsuccessful releases, he formed a friendship with Ary Barroso, who supplied him with “Xangô,” co-written with Fernando Lobo; the song became his initial hit. The following year Goulart starred in the long-running production Um Milhão de Mulheres, which enjoyed a two-year engagement. A period spent in Porto Alegre preceded his return to Rio in 1949, when he recorded Wilson Batista and Antônio Almeida’s “Miss Mangueira” for the forthcoming Carnival. The popularity of his 1951 version of “Balzaqueana,” again by Wilson Batista and Nássara, secured an invitation to the prestigious Rádio Nacional, where he remained for fifteen years.
Goulart became the first vocalist to present Lupicínio Rodrigues’s “Vingança” in Rio’s nightlife; the song established the composer and was linked to several suicides, yet contractual obligations with RCA ultimately transferred the recording to Herivelto Martins. Among his numerous 1950s releases, one of the more distinctive projects was Elton Medeiros’s “Exaltação a São Paulo,” first heard during the 1954 Carnival. For the program Um Milhão de Melodias, Goulart recorded the piece with Radamés Gnattali’s arrangement for the sixty-piece Rádio Nacional orchestra augmented by ten matchboxes, an instrument drawn from informal samba gatherings. During the same decade he undertook tours of the former U.S.S.R., China, and various European nations. In February 1963 he introduced the bossa-nova march “Marcha da Quarta-Feira de Cinzas,” composed by Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes.
Albums
Mestres da MPB
1995
Rodolfo e Anita / Carimbó no Carnaval
1976
Mexe Mexe / Amor Amor
1973
Brasil em Ritmo de Samba
1956
Singles
