Beth Carvalho

Elizabeth "Beth" Santos Leal de Carvalho (May 5, 1946 – April 30, 2019) was a Brazilian samba singer, guitarist, cavaquinist and composer.

Biography
Carvalho was raised in a middle-class family in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone. Her father, João Francisco Leal de Carvalho, was a lawyer. She grew up influenced by different types of music. Her father used to take her to samba school rehearsals, and her mother was a lover of classical music who encouraged her to become a ballerina. She started playing the guitar as a teenager, and got involved with the emerging Bossa Nova movement, winning a nationwide song contest on TV at the age of 19.

Following a 1967 album, "Muito Na Onda," with the project 'Conjunto 3D,' Carvalho did her first solo record, 1968's "Andança", and carried the song of the same name to victory in a larger festival, which brought her to prominence. Although she started her career with Bossa Nova, that was an ephemeral phase which lasted less than one year. Beth started dedicating herself entirely to samba just as her fame began, working with legendary composers such as Nelson Sargento.

Carvalho is a very important artist in the history of samba, as she celebrated and brought the spotlight to the work of legendary composers such as Cartola, Nelson Cavaquinho & Guilherme de Brito when they weren't receiving the attention they deserved. Almost all of her records have songs by these composers, among other legendary sambistas such as Nelson Sargento and the Old Guard of Portela. Her samba school was Mangueira, but that didn't stop her from recording dozens of songs from composers of Portela, the other great traditional samba school in Rio. Later, in the late 1970s and early 80s, Beth helped bring to the public the work of other rising pagode artists from Cacique de Ramos, such as Almir Guineto, Jorge Aragão and the Fundo de Quintal group. Then, in 1983, she introduced Zeca Pagodinho who would become the major samba name of the 90s. Carvalho always tried to bring underrated composers the recognition they deserve, and she is regarded as madrinha do samba (the godmother of samba). She was a driving force in the modernization of samba in the 80s, and at the same time rejected commercial pop trends in samba arrangements, preserving tradition.

In the 1990s, Beth's popularity wasn't the strongest, but she was always popular. She recorded an album dedicated to the samba from São Paulo, rejecting the famous axiom that "São Paulo is the grave of samba". In 1998 she recorded an album dedicated entirely to the pagode classics, Pérolas do Pagode (Pagode Pearls).



In the new millennium, Beth worked more than ever, releasing CDs and DVDs. With a career that spanned 40 years, she was a historical figure in Brazilian culture, and recognized as the female sambista with the most substantial opus in Brazil, without diminishing other stars as Clara Nunes and Daniela Mercury.

Beth Carvalho is depicted in the 2022 documentary film Andança - Os encontros e as memórias de Beth Carvalho, directed by Pedro Bronz.

Trivia

 * Beth was a known supporter of both the Botafogo and Clube Atlético Mineiro football teams
 * Beth was one of the main personalities of the samba school Mangueira
 * Beth had a variety of hits in the 1970s, with her 1979 song "Coisinha Do Pai" being one of her biggest hits. The song was inserted into the Mars Pathfinder.
 * Her social music often concerned the poor and the Indigenous peoples in Brazil

Discography

 * Beth Carvalho – 40 anos de Carreira – Ao Vivo no Theatro Municipal – Vol.1 (CD) – Andança/Sony – BMG – 2006
 * Beth Carvalho – 40 anos de Carreira – Ao Vivo no Theatro Municipal – Vol.2 (CD) – Andança/Sony – BMG – 2006
 * Beth Carvalho – 40 anos de Carreira – Ao Vivo no Theatro Municipal (DVD) – Andança/Sony – BMG – 2006
 * Beth Carvalho – A Madrinha do Samba – Ao Vivo (DVD) – Indie – 2004
 * Beth Carvalho – A Madrinha do Samba – Ao Vivo (CD) – Indie – 2004
 * Beth Carvalho Canta Cartola – BMG – 2003
 * Nome Sagrado – Beth Carvalho Canta Nelson Cavaquinho – Jam Music – 2001
 * Pagode de Mesa Ao Vivo 2 – Universal Music – 2000
 * Pagode de Mesa Ao Vivo – Universal Music – 1999
 * Pérolas do Pagode – Globo / Polydor – 1998
 * Brasileira da Gema – Polygram – 1996
 * Beth Carvalho Canta o Samba de São Paulo – Velas – 1993
 * Pérolas – 25 Anos de Samba – Som Livre – 1992
 * Ao Vivo no Olympia – Som Livre – 1991
 * Intérprete – Polygram – 1991
 * Saudades da Guanabara – Polygram – 1989
 * Alma do Brasil – Polygram – 1988
 * Beth Carvalho Ao Vivo (Montreux) – RCA – 1987
 * Beth – RCA – 1986
 * Das Bençãos Que Virão Com os Novos Amanhãs – RCA – 1985
 * Coração Feliz – RCA – 1984
 * Suor no Rosto – RCA – 1983
 * Traço de União – RCA – 1982
 * Na fonte – RCA – 1981
 * Sentimento Brasileiro – RCA – 1980
 * Beth Carvalho no Pagode – RCA – 1979
 * De Pé No Chão – RCA – 1978
 * Nos Botequins da Vida – RCA – 1977
 * Mundo Melhor – RCA – 1976
 * Pandeiro e Viola – Tapecar – 1975
 * Pra Seu Governo – Tapecar – 1974
 * Canto Por Um Novo Dia – Tapecar – 1973
 * Andança – Odeon – 1969