Biography
Having composed more than 130 works that found their way onto recordings, Sueli Costa produced numerous successes, among them “Jura Secreta,” which Simone first cut in 1977 and which Fagner later revisited on two separate occasions. Simone alone committed sixteen of her pieces to disc, among them “Alma” and “Face a Face,” while Elis Regina took up “Altos e Baixos,” “Primeiro Jornal,” “20 Anos Blues,” and “Cão sem Dono.” Maria Betânia likewise embraced sixteen titles, including “Coração Ateu” and “Todos os Lugares,” Gal Costa chose “Vida de Artista,” Flora Purim earned a Grammy nomination for her version of “20 Anos Blues,” and Nana Caymmi recorded roughly ten, among them “Até o Redentor,” with countless additional interpreters following suit. Edson Cordeiro received the 1993 Sharp prize for best pop/rock singer on the strength of “Voz de Mulher,” written with Abel Silva, and the same song was named best of the year. Costa began teaching herself the violão at fifteen; three years afterward came her earliest composition, the bossa-nova piece “Balãozinho.” In 1967 Nara Leão recorded “Por Exemplo, Você,” a collaboration with João Medeiros Filho. She relocated to Rio de Janeiro in 1969 and supplied the score for the stage work Alice no País do Divino-Maravilhoso. Her “Encouraçado” placed third at the V International Song Festival (V FIC) in 1970. The following year Maria Betânia incorporated three of her songs—“Aldebarã,” “Assombrações,” and “Sombra Amiga,” all bearing lyrics by Tite de Lemos—into the revue Rosa dos Ventos. Elis Regina featured “20 Anos Blues,” again with words by Vitor Martins, on the album Ela. In 1974 Maria Betânia presented an array of Costa pieces during Cena Muda: “A Sonhar eu Venci Mundo,” based on a Fernando Pessoa poem, “Conversações com João e Maria,” “Encouraçado,” “Demoníaca,” “Nossa Senhora da Ajuda” (after Cecília Meireles), “Ator de Cinema,” and “Açúcar Cândi” (with Tite de Lemos). Early influences included the blues, Tom Jobim, and bossa nova; in addition to songs created with collaborators, she set poems by Cecília Meireles, Ferreira Gullar, and Fernando Pessoa. Her initial partner was Sidney Miller, and their first joint effort was the choro “Morre um Bonde em Praça Pública” (1976). Miller arranged her introduction to Tite de Lemos, who supplied lyrics for both “Encouraçado” and “Medo de Amar No. 2.” With Cacaso she wrote “Dentro de Mim Mora um Anjo” and “Face a Face”; with Abel Silva, “Alma” and “Jura Secreta”; with Aldir Blanc, “Altos e Baixos”; with Vitor Martins, “20 Anos Blues”; with Paulinho Pinheiro, “Cordilheiras”; and with Fátima Guedes, “O Homem que Escolhi.” Two of her compositions entered major telenovelas in 1975: “Dentro de Mim Mora um Anjo” (with Cacaso) appeared in Bravo, while “Coração Ateu” (with Joãozinho Medeiros), recorded by Maria Betânia, featured in Gabriela. That same year she issued her debut album under her own name, Sueli Costa, and followed it with further releases titled Sueli Costa (1977), Vida de Artista (1978), Louça Fina (1980), and Íntimo (1984). Sueli Costa died on March 4, 2023, at the age of 79.
Albums
