Agostinho dos Santos

Dos Santos' voice was a baritone with bright coloring and a light vibrato, singing in a style called (in Portuguese) "crooner da orchestra".

• Name — Agostinho dos Santos • Birth Name — Agostinho dos Santos • Born — 25 April 1932 • Birthplace — São Paulo, Brazil • Died — 11 July 1973 • Place of death — Orly, France • Genre — Bossa nova, MPB, rock and roll • Occupation — Singer, songwriter • Years Active — 1951–73 • Label — Star Records (Brazil), Polydor, RGE, Elenco, Ritmos Codil, Premier, London Records/Odeon Records, Continental Records, Phonogram Records/Polyfar, SBA, Copacabana

Agostinho dos Santos was born in São Paulo, in the neighborhood called Bela Vista or Bixiga. One of his first jobs in music was singing at a taxi-dancing club called O maravilhoso in São Paulo. Early in his career, Dos Santos sang with the orchestra of Osmar Milani, and on a lunchtime radio program hosted by Manuel de Nóbrega on Radio Nacional. Dos Santos' first recordings were successes. The first, Vendedor de laranjas (Orange Seller) became widely popular in Brazil, while his second major hit, Meu benzinho was a Portuguese version of the song "My Little One" recorded in English by Frankie Laine. Also during this period Dos Santos successfully recorded a Portuguese version of the Bill Haley hit "See You Later Alligator", "Até Logo, Jacaré." During 1959, Dos Santos frequently appeared on a music program featuring Tom Jobim, called O bom Tom, broadcast on TV Paulista in São Paulo. Dos Santos provided his voice to an important film of the Bossa Nova era, Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) (1959), dubbing the songs sung by the lead character in the film (Orpheu), played by Breno Mello. Dos Santos was selected to dub the part in preference to João Gilberto, who also auditioned for the part, because the producers felt Dos Santos' voice sounded more black (Dos Santos was in fact black, and Gilberto was white). As a result of his work in the film, Dos Santos received offers to appear in music clubs, theaters, and on television worldwide. Dos Santos was a participant in the historic 1962 concert Bossa Nova at Carnegie Hall, in which he enjoyed great success with the audience. A review in The New York Times cited Dos Santos' performance particularly, stating that his voice was the most beautiful voice of the decade. In 1963, he traveled with Jose Scatena, president of the RGE record label, on a visit that inaugurated the release of RGE offerings through the Argentinian record company Fermata. By 1964, Dos Santos was one of the highest paid television performers in Brazil. In 1971, he participated in the first Onda Nueva music festival in Venezuela. During his career, Dos Santos toured through the U.S., Italy, Germany, Portugal, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, and Mexico. He performed in the U.S. and in Brazil with Johnny Mathis, and, in Italy, with Caterina Valente. Dos Santos appeared on TV in France, Portugal, England, and Belgium. His compositions include "Forças Ocultas" (with Antônio Bruno), "Sozinho Com Você" (with Dirce Morais/Heitor Canilo), "Chuva Para Molhar O Sol" (with Edison Borges), "Podem Falar" (with Renato Duarte), "Distância é Saudade," and "Quem Levou Maria."

Dos Santos had three children. Dos Santos played soccer (futebol) for a team from his neighborhood in São Paulo called Boca Junior, and also for on a team composed of fellow musicians. Dos Santos was a passenger on Varig Flight 820, traveling from Galeão Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Orly Airport, Paris, France, on July 11, 1973, when a fire on board the airplane caused it to make an emergency landing in a field not far from the airport. Dos Santos was among the 123 fatalities.

Dos Santos appeared on screen in at least one film, called Operação dinamite (Operation Dynamite). In that film, produced in Portugal in 1967, dos Santos appeared as himself.