Tim Maia

Tim Maia earned recognition as the pioneer of Brazilian soul music yet consistently displayed his authentic character to admirers, would-be employers, and legal authorities alike. His defiant, sardonic, forthright, and argumentative style—tempered always by humor—combined with candid dependence on cocaine and marijuana, led to a reputation for casually skipping commitments, including major concerts, which prompted exclusion by record labels, prominent broadcasters including Globo, and other outlets unwilling to accommodate his unsettling demeanor.

The power and range of his baritone allowed Maia to deliver upbeat, dance-oriented energy while also imbuing sentimental depth into otherwise sentimental material, as demonstrated on the successful single “Me dê Motivo.” Over the course of his work, this range appeared in the broad array of genres he explored: soul, funk, bossa nova during the 1990s, romantic ballads, American pop, samba, baião, and MPB. During the 1970s he began releasing albums and staging concerts that advanced his personal fusion of American soul with Brazilian forms incorporating samba and baião elements. The approach steadily captivated working-class neighborhoods on Rio de Janeiro’s north side before surging in 1976 alongside the black movement. In the 1990s younger pop performers rediscovered him, covering numerous of his successes; Skank, Lulu Santos, Ara Ketu, Paralamas do Sucesso, and Marisa Monte were among those who did so, as did already-established figures such as Elis Regina and Gal Costa.

Maia composed his initial pieces at age eight, then at fourteen formed the short-lived group Os Tijucanos do Ritmo as its drummer. He subsequently studied guitar and soon instructed neighborhood children in Tijuca, Rio, among them members of the Matoso gang—Maia, Jorge Ben, Erasmo Esteves (later Erasmo Carlos), and others—so named for the street where they gathered. At that time Maia served as guitar instructor to Esteves; when Roberto Carlos entered the circle in 1958 he likewise received lessons from him. Maia, Carlos, and Esteves, together with Edson Trindade, Arlênio Lívio, and José Roberto “China,” established the Snacks, later renamed the Sputniks, which performed live and appeared on television, including Carlos Imperial’s Clube do Rock on TV Continental, where Carlos was already a fixture. Incompatibility between Carlos and Maia prompted the group’s dissolution.

Following his father’s death in 1959, Maia received a scholarship to study television communications in the United States, where he remained four years. He began there as a singer with the Ideals, yet in 1963 was detained on a marijuana charge. After six months’ imprisonment and subsequent deportation to Brazil, he encountered little support from former associates Esteves and Carlos, who were then entering the widespread popularity of Jovem Guarda that would soon captivate the nation. Relocating to São Paulo, he received assistance from Os Mutantes. His debut single appeared on CBS in 1968—“Meu País” backed with “Sentimento”—and greater visibility followed in 1969 with “These Are the Songs,” later covered by Elis Regina in duet with him and featured on her album Em Pleno Verão. In 1970 he issued his first full-length release, Tim Maia (Polygram), containing the enduring tracks “Azul da Cor do Mar,” “Coroné Antônio Bento,” and “Primavera,” which remained on the carioca charts for twenty-four weeks.

The following year Tim Maia, Vol. 2 yielded two further lasting successes: “Não Quero Dinheiro (Só Quero Amar)” and “Preciso Aprender a Ser Só.” Tim Maia, Vol. 4 (1973) featured “Réu Confesso” and “Gostava Tanto de Você.” Also during the 1970s he established his independent imprint, first named Seroma and subsequently Vitória Régia Discos. Enthralled by the religious and philosophical group Cultura Racional, Maia issued two modest albums on Seroma in 1972—Racional, Vol. 1 and Racional, Vol. 2. Three years later he scored one of his major successes with “Sossego” and another with “Acenda o Farol,” both appearing on Tim Maia Disco Club. In 1983 the Polygram album O Descobridor dos Sete Mares produced the hits “O Descobridor dos Sete Mares” and “Me dê Motivo.” He further released Tim Maia in 1986, which included the popular track “Do Leme ao Pontal (Tomo Guaraná, Suco de Caju, Goiabada Para Sobremesa).”

In 1990 he presented bossa nova standards on the little-noticed Tim Maia Interpreta Clássicos da Bossa Nova, issued via his Vitória Régia label. After a period of minimal media exposure he regained attention when Jorge Ben Jor referenced him in 1993 on “W/Brasil.” Around the same time Maia achieved success with his version of “Como uma Onda” used in a television commercial. Concurrently he distanced himself from major labels, issuing subsequent recordings through Vitória Régia, among them What a Wonderful World (1997), a collection of American pop and soul standards, and Amigos do Rei/Tim Maia e Os Cariocas, featuring the well-known vocal ensemble Amigos do Rei. While performing at the Municipal Theater of Niterói in March 1998 he fell ill, was hospitalized, and died several days later.