Biography
Osny Silva burst onto the scene with his debut recording in 1943, the Leo Daniderff valse “Alza Manolita (As Cartas Não Mentem Jamais),” which outsold every competing version and left the later efforts of Francisco Alves and Vicente Celestino trailing far behind. Three years afterward, in 1951, he introduced the enduring Corinthians anthem “Campeão dos Campeões,” penned by Lauro D’Ávila as a personal tribute to the club he passionately supported during its championship season. By 1964 his popularity remained undiminished; he ranked among the year’s leading sellers with “Jura-me,” “Funeral Dum Rei Nagô,” “Banzo,” “Violino Cigano,” “Cavaleiro Errante,” “Olhos Negros,” “Navio Negreiro,” “O Trovador de Toledo,” and numerous additional titles.
Silva began performing on Rádio Educadora Paulista in 1939 before moving to Rádio Tupi the following year. At the suggestion of conductor Spártaco Rossi, he cut “Alza Manolita (As Cartas Não Mentem Jamais)” in 1943, reviving a piece Eduardo das Neves had popularized in the 1910s. His rendition moved an extraordinary 80,000 copies, eclipsing both Francisco Alves’s contemporaneous release and Vicente Celestino’s self-adapted version issued three years later. Subsequent releases through 1945 failed to match that commercial impact. Honored in 1951 as Best Singer of International Popular Music, Silva pressed ahead and scored further successes in 1953 with “Bandolins ao Luar” and “Violino Cigano,” soon joined by the hits “Risque” and “João Valentão.” That same year he received the Roquette-Pinto prize for Best Singer and embarked on extensive tours across Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, where he also made recordings. The album containing “Funeral Dum Rei Nagô” and “Banzo” was judged among the strongest of 1954.
Silva began performing on Rádio Educadora Paulista in 1939 before moving to Rádio Tupi the following year. At the suggestion of conductor Spártaco Rossi, he cut “Alza Manolita (As Cartas Não Mentem Jamais)” in 1943, reviving a piece Eduardo das Neves had popularized in the 1910s. His rendition moved an extraordinary 80,000 copies, eclipsing both Francisco Alves’s contemporaneous release and Vicente Celestino’s self-adapted version issued three years later. Subsequent releases through 1945 failed to match that commercial impact. Honored in 1951 as Best Singer of International Popular Music, Silva pressed ahead and scored further successes in 1953 with “Bandolins ao Luar” and “Violino Cigano,” soon joined by the hits “Risque” and “João Valentão.” That same year he received the Roquette-Pinto prize for Best Singer and embarked on extensive tours across Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, where he also made recordings. The album containing “Funeral Dum Rei Nagô” and “Banzo” was judged among the strongest of 1954.