Os Incríveis

As a leading ensemble in the Jovem Guarda movement, the group toured numerous countries and issued more than twenty LPs. They began under the name the Clevers, performing instrumental pieces in the style of the Shadows and the Ventures while also incorporating vocal material. Following their appearance on the Ritmos da Juventude program broadcast by Rádio Nacional in São Paulo, SP, host DJ Antonio Aguillar presented them to Continental Records. Their debut 78 rpm single arrived in 1963, featuring a twist rendition of José Padilla’s “El Relicario,” which became an immediate success and prompted the swift release of the album Encontro com the Clevers -- Twist. While pursuing individual projects, the musicians backed Demétrius, Orlando Alvarado, and additional performers, then embarked on a European tour. Upon returning to Brazil they prepared an Argentine itinerary, yet severed ties with Aguillar, who controlled the Clevers trademark. After completing the forty-day journey they learned that Aguillar had assembled a replacement lineup and intended to pursue legal action over unauthorized use of the name. Adopting the title Os Incríveis from an earlier release, they resumed activity. During this commercially vibrant phase they cut tracks in Italian, Spanish, and English and appeared in the motion picture Os Incríveis Neste Mundo Louco. In the 1960s bassist Neno yielded his position to Nenê. By 1969 the catalog already included such successes as “Era Um Garoto Que Como Eu Amava Os Beatles e Os Rolling Stones” (G. Morandi, Portuguese version by Brancato Jr.), “O Milionário” (Mike Maxfield of the Dakotas), “Czardas,” “Israel,” “Te Amo,” “Mundo Louco,” “Menina,” “Kokorono-niji,” and “Embora” (Nenê/Brancato Jr.). Regular participants on programs including Jovem Guarda na TV, they reached their commercial zenith with visits to Japan and Europe in 1967–1968 and the Spanish-language album Los Increibles, issued for the Latin American market by Argentine CBS. A sequence of recordings of compositions by Dom and Ravel—including the Mobral campaign song “Eu Te Amo, Meu Brasil” together with “Você Também é Responsável” and “Homem Do Campo”—that carried the endorsement of the military government provoked widespread public disapproval, marking the onset of their decline. Audiences began to jeer at live appearances, sales collapsed, and the members concluded they could no longer continue. Netinho subsequently launched the rock band Casa das Máquinas, Manito concentrated on instrumental work and joined the progressive-rock outfit O Som Nosso de Cada Dia, Nenê established himself as a studio musician, and Mingo maintained recording activity with other players while occasionally issuing material under the Os Incríveis name. In 1973 and 1974 Risonho, Mingo, and Nenê reconvened to produce two LPs; the first yielded the hits “O Magnário” (Risonho), “Eu Sou Humilde,” and “Adeus Tristeza,” while a promotional single of the Brazilian National Anthem was distributed as a soap premium. The second album contained “Você Vai Ser Mamãe” and “Isto é A Felicidade.” Persistent public hostility forced another disbandment. In 1992 Netinho, Nenê, and Manito, joined by Netinho’s son, guitarist Sandro, and occasionally by Risonho, revived the group to capitalize on renewed interest in earlier repertoire. Although the twenty-fifth anniversary of Jovem Guarda in 1995 prompted reissues, compilations, reunion concerts, and fresh covers of period standards, Os Incríveis were prevented from participating by the death of vocalist Mingo that same year.