Erasmo Carlos was a rock singer and songwriter born in 1941 in the Tijuca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. Known as Tremendão, the artist, who was also an actor, was one of the icons of the movement Young guard in the 1960s, together with Roberto Carlos. His lyrics were performed by several Brazilian singers. Erasmo Carlos died in November 2022, due to an edemigenic syndrome.
Read too: Gal Costa — one of the great icons of Brazilian popular music
Topics of this article
- 1 - Origin of Erasmo Carlos
- 2 - Erasmo Carlos and the neighborhood of Tijuca
- 3 - Erasmo Carlos and the passion for rock
- 4 - Erasmo Carlos, change of last name and nicknames
- 5 - Family of Erasmo Carlos
- 6 - Work by Erasmo Carlos
- 7 - Friendship of Erasmo Carlos with Roberto Carlos
- 8 - Erasmo Carlos and the Young Guard
- 9 - Albums by Erasmo Carlos
- 10 - Movies and soap operas with Erasmo Carlos
- 11 - Awards and tributes to Erasmo Carlos
- 12 - Death of Erasmo Carlos
Origin of Erasmo Carlos
Erasmo Esteves was born on June 5, 1941, at the Rio de Janeiro
. His mother, Maria Diva Esteves, was a nursing assistant. According to the singer's biography my bad reputation, launched in 2009, his father, Nilson Ferreira Coelho, did not assume his mother's pregnancy at the time of his birth. Erasmo Carlos only met his father at the age of 23, when he was already famous.Erasmo grew up surrounded by Bahians, since his mother, grandmother and uncles came from savior to Rio de Janeiro by ship before he was born. That's why, Bahian culture was very present on the singer's maternal side of the family.
The artist recalled in his biography that his family enjoyed Bahian food on feast days. Among his main souvenirs was his grandmother's coconut beans. The singer also highlighted his devotion to Lord of Bonfim.
As the singer has already stated, he didn't like politics. Nonetheless, loved soccer, being a regular fan of the Vasco da Gama team, from Rio de Janeiro. Erasmo told in his book that he even tried to be a player, but was banned from playing the sport because of back problems.
Before becoming an artist, the teenager Erasmo worked as a real estate display and warehouse assistant. In his free time, he listened to the radio and cut out pictures of artists.
Erasmo Carlos and the Tijuca neighborhood
Tijuca, a neighborhood located in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, was where Erasmo Carlos spent his childhood and part of his adolescence. According to the singer, in several interviews, it was in Tijuca where he spent several important moments of his life.
Streets in this neighborhood, such as Barão de Ubá, Haddock Lobo and Matoso, where the bar Divino is located today (meeting place with friends), the Mota alley and the São Vicente lane filled the heart of the artist with unforgettable memories.
It was in the Tijuca neighborhood where Erasmo Carlos made friends for life, especially musicians, among which the singers and composers Jorge Ben Jor and Tim Maia stand out. It was also at this location in Rio de Janeiro that he met the future King Roberto Carlos, a young man from Espírito Santo who had just moved to the neighborhood.
Erasmo Carlos expressed his love for the neighborhood in the song “A Turma da Tijuca”, written in 1984
[...]
In this eternal feeling of goal
Many fights and the birth of rock'n roll
A lot of people in the clear in the meat queue
waiting for the sun to rise
Just to sell your place
What a crazy crowd, that gang from Tijuca
[...]
Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)
Erasmo Carlos and the passion for rock
It was also in his adolescence in Tijuca when Erasmo Carlos discovered rock, musical style of which he would become a Brazilian icon years later. Like many future musicians of the time, the singer known as Tremendão was a huge fan of Elvis Presley.
It was at this time that he adopted the look linked to rock. His rocker image consisted of jeans, a turtleneck shirt, long hair and sideburns.
Also a fan of American rhythm and blues singers, Erasmo Carlos sang in "erasmês", a crack Englishman, as he himself defined it, to approach foreign idols, including Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Johnny Cash.
Also access: 13th of July – World Rock Day
Erasmo Carlos, change of last name and nicknames
Erasmo Carlos declared, in his biography my bad reputation, what I thought his last name Esteves of a huge poverty, artistically speaking.
When he left The Snakes music group in the early 1960s, he decided to adopt the surname Carlos, according to him, perhaps because of his contact with singer and friend Roberto Carlos and with producer Carlos Imperial.
The last name change only came definitively, according to the singer, when he found out that Carlos was a name considered very special by the masters of the occult and that had unique energy for containing the initials of leaders powerful.
Throughout his career of more than 60 years, Erasmo Carlos was known by some nicknames, such as Gentle Giant (due to his 1.93 meters) and Brasa. Your main nickname, however, it was tremendous, as he was baptized at the time of the Jovem Guarda and which meant “good-looking boy”.
Erasmo Carlos's family
Erasmo Carlos' first marriage was to landscape designer Sandra Saionara Saião Lobato Esteves, better known as Narinha. She was the artist's songwriting partner. With Narinha, Erasmo Carlos had three children: Alexandre, Gil and Leonardo.
Narinha died in 1995, and, according to the artist commented in an interview, this was one of the worst moments of his life. To try to get over the loss from your wife, Erasmo composed the song “It is necessary to live”. Check out an excerpt below:
[...]
Every stone in the way you must remove
In a flower that has thorns
you can scratch
If good and evil exist, you can choose
You need to know how to live
[…]
He married the pedagogue Fernanda Passos, with whom he was married until his death. from him. The two had no children.
Work by Erasmo Carlos
In his late teens, Erasmo Carlos attended Clube do Rock — a musical program on the now defunct TV Tupi —, in which he strengthened ties with several musicians. There, he also met producer Carlos Imperial, who definitely introduced him to music.
In 1958, Erasmo joined his first musical group, The snakes, formed by former members of the band Sputniks. This last group ended its activities after a fight between Roberto Carlos and Tim Maia.
The Snakes band was part of the underground scene of the music market when it was hired by the Pernambucan label Mocambo. In the early 1960s, the group recorded a 78 RPM wafer, a double compact and an LP, Only twist. The Snakes band by Erasmo Carlos ended activities in 1961.
Then, the singer began working as an assistant to presenter Carlos Imperial on Rádio Guanabara, on the daily program called Os Brotos Comandam. At that time, met the singer and future partner of Jovem Guarda, Wanderléa.
In 1962, Erasmo Carlos became one of the vocalists of Renato & Seus Blue Caps. The following year, the group accompanied Roberto Carlos in the recording of the song “Splish splash” (American rockabilly icon) in a version written in Portuguese by Erasmo. That's how the partnership musical between Erasmus and Roberto.
Friendship of Erasmo Carlos with Roberto Carlos
According to the book my bad reputation, Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos they met when they were teenagers, still in Tijuca, when the latter sought him out to find out if he had the lyrics to the song “Hound doy”, by Elvis Presley.
Soon both singers realized that had tastes in common. They were Vasco da Gama fans. They were also fans of the actress marilyn monroe and actors James Dean and Marlon Brando.
After that first meeting, Roberto Carlos invited Tremendão to participate in the Clube do Rock program. Years later, they presented the program Jovem Guarda, together with the singer Wanderléa.
Even with the end of Jovem Guarda, Erasmo and Roberto maintained their friendship. They were musical partners for more than six decades. Together, they composed several famous songs of Brazilian music. “We have the perfect musical marriage”, stated Erasmo in a TV interview.
Check below an excerpt from the song “Amigo”, from 1997, a Roberto Carlos' homage to Erasmo:
[...]
You my friend of faith, my comrade brother
Friend of so many paths and so many journeys
Head of a man but heart of a boy
The one who is by my side on any walk
I remember all the fights, my good fellow
You have proven so many times that you are a great warrior
[...]
Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos had a fight over a musical disagreement and didn't speak to each other for six months, but later they resumed their friendship.
Between the main compositions by Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos, stand out:
“Emotions”
"Jesus Christ"
"Beyond the horizon"
“Sitting by the wayside”
“If you think”
"Smoking is prohibited"
“Sly Kitten”
“You have to know how to live”
“Breakdown Party”
"Details"
“By the way”
“My bad reputation”
“I want everything to go to hell”
Erasmo Carlos and the Young Guard
![Erasmo Carlos, Roberto Carlos and Wanderléa, at the time of Jovem Guarda. [3]](/f/fe2196bc46641b2653271e66ac1602ae.jpg)
In 1964, the British rock group The Beatles was a worldwide sensation, culminating in the creation of Beatlemania. In Brazil, it was no different and the explosion became known as iê-iê-iê.
Taking advantage of the momentum of Beatlemania, TV Record launched in 1968 the television program Jovem Guarda. The presenters were singers Roberto Carlos, Erasmo Carlos and Wanderléa.
More than a program, Jovem Guarda was one of the main Brazilian cultural and musical movements. With a modern and cheerful look, the representatives of Jovem Guarda approached music with harmonious scenarios and adolescent passions.
The Young Guard Program ended its activities in 1968, and Erasmo Carlos continued with his already successful solo career.
Albums by Erasmo Carlos
In the following decades, as a singer and composer, Erasmo Carlos merged its rock roots with the mmusic Ppopular BBrazilian (MPB) and with the Bbone nmy ass, musical style that became famous for the partnership between singers and composers wineicius de moraes It is Tom Jobim.
In all, the singer released 29 albums. See below the main albums by Erasmo Carlos:
Alligator/Valentine's Terror (1964)
Charles, Erasmus… (1971)
dreams inmemories (1941-1972)
Around the corners of Ipanema (1978)
Erasmo Carlos invites… (1980)
woman (sex fnimble) (1981)
love for vlive or mmiss Themor (1982)
to talk about Themor (2001)
Some songs by Erasmo Carlos were sung by him and others were performed by other musicians and friends, such as Roberto Carlos himself, Nara Leão, Gal Costa, Rita Lee, Marisa Monte, etc.
See too: Chico Buarque — one of the main names in Brazilian Popular Music
Movies and soap operas with Erasmo Carlos
Erasmo Carlos participated in some movies throughout your career. See the main ones:
My mother in law é from the Policia (1958)
Roberto Carlos and the devilThepink tooth (1968)
Roberto Carlos at 300 kilometers per Hnow (1972)
the machos (1972)
the little blue horse (1984)
Lost paradise (2018)
Airplane mode (2019)
Erasmo Carlos was also participateddthe soundtrack of some telenovelas, including:
The profet (1977)
Locomotives (1977)
free to voar (1984)
Awards and tributes to Erasmo Carlos
1972: award for Best Supporting Actor, by the Paulista Association of Art Critics, in the film the machos.
1982: Erasmo Convida program, in which he received friends like Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethânia, etc.
2008: Som Brasil program.
2003: honoree of the night at the 10th Multishow Music Award.
2022: awarded at the Latin Grammy in the category Best Rock or Alternative Music Album in Portuguese Language, for the album O future belongs to Jyoung Gguard.
Death of Erasmo Carlos
Erasmo Carlos he died at age 81, on the 22nd of november from 2022, at Hospital Barra D’Or, in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, due to an edemigenic syndrome (an accumulation of fluid in body tissues). The singer's death was felt by several personalities, especially in music, who fondly remembered Tremendão's charismatic personality.
image credits
[1] A.PES / Shutterstock
[2] Public domain / National Archive Collection
[3] Public domain / National Archive Collection
By Silvia Tancredi
Journalist
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