Biography
During Brazil’s Golden Age of song, Zé da Zilda produced compositions whose appeal endures. His radio presence proved equally significant, matched by an extensive recorded catalog.
From childhood onward he moved through the musical circles of Mangueira, where he counted Cartola among his close associates, and of São Cristóvão, where he performed cavaquinho and violão at the celebrated Casa de Caboclo. There he acquired the nickname Zé Com Fome; after his 1938 marriage to composer and singer Zilda Fernandes it became Zé da Zilda. Rádio Educadora engaged him, and at Rádio Globo he first met Zilda while hosting programs and leading his own regional ensemble. That partnership initiated the harmony couple, later billed as Zé e Zilda on Rádio Cruzeiro do Sul.
His samba “Não Quero Mais,” written with Cartola and Carlos Cachaça, achieved success at the 1936 Carnival when performed by Mangueira’s samba school. Araci de Almeida recorded it the following year; decades afterward Leny Andrade included it on her album Cartola and Paulinho da Viola featured a version titled “Não Quero Mais Amar a Ninguém” on Nervos de Aço. In 1938 Orlando Silva released “Meu Pranto Ninguém Vê,” credited to Zé da Zilda and Ataulfo Alves. Two years later Zé da Zilda took part in maestro Leopold Stokowski’s sessions for albums issued in the United States. Orlando Silva again scored a major success in 1941 with the samba “Aos Pés da Cruz,” composed with Marino Pinto; João Gilberto later re-recorded the piece.
Zé e Zilda made their first recordings for Victor in 1944—“Fim de Eixo” and “Levanta, José”—launching a long sequence of releases that mixed their own material with songs by fellow composers. Carnival hits commenced in 1945 with “Conversa, Laurindo,” written with Ari Monteiro; the best-remembered remains the march “Saca-rolha,” credited to Zé, Zilda, and Valdir Machado and still widely performed. The couple returned to Rádio Educadora, remained twelve years at Rádio Tupi, and delivered their final broadcast on Rádio Mayrink Veiga. Sambas de breque such as “Nega Zura,” “Mulher Malandra,” and “Garota Copacabana”—a style Zilda maintained had been originated by Zé da Zilda together with Heitor Catumbi—appeared on Jorge Veiga’s 1975 Copacabana LP O Melhor de Jorge Veiga.
From childhood onward he moved through the musical circles of Mangueira, where he counted Cartola among his close associates, and of São Cristóvão, where he performed cavaquinho and violão at the celebrated Casa de Caboclo. There he acquired the nickname Zé Com Fome; after his 1938 marriage to composer and singer Zilda Fernandes it became Zé da Zilda. Rádio Educadora engaged him, and at Rádio Globo he first met Zilda while hosting programs and leading his own regional ensemble. That partnership initiated the harmony couple, later billed as Zé e Zilda on Rádio Cruzeiro do Sul.
His samba “Não Quero Mais,” written with Cartola and Carlos Cachaça, achieved success at the 1936 Carnival when performed by Mangueira’s samba school. Araci de Almeida recorded it the following year; decades afterward Leny Andrade included it on her album Cartola and Paulinho da Viola featured a version titled “Não Quero Mais Amar a Ninguém” on Nervos de Aço. In 1938 Orlando Silva released “Meu Pranto Ninguém Vê,” credited to Zé da Zilda and Ataulfo Alves. Two years later Zé da Zilda took part in maestro Leopold Stokowski’s sessions for albums issued in the United States. Orlando Silva again scored a major success in 1941 with the samba “Aos Pés da Cruz,” composed with Marino Pinto; João Gilberto later re-recorded the piece.
Zé e Zilda made their first recordings for Victor in 1944—“Fim de Eixo” and “Levanta, José”—launching a long sequence of releases that mixed their own material with songs by fellow composers. Carnival hits commenced in 1945 with “Conversa, Laurindo,” written with Ari Monteiro; the best-remembered remains the march “Saca-rolha,” credited to Zé, Zilda, and Valdir Machado and still widely performed. The couple returned to Rádio Educadora, remained twelve years at Rádio Tupi, and delivered their final broadcast on Rádio Mayrink Veiga. Sambas de breque such as “Nega Zura,” “Mulher Malandra,” and “Garota Copacabana”—a style Zilda maintained had been originated by Zé da Zilda together with Heitor Catumbi—appeared on Jorge Veiga’s 1975 Copacabana LP O Melhor de Jorge Veiga.