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Artist
Nara Leão
12+ albums
Bossa Novabrazilianmpbfemale vocalistsbrazil
about
Nara Lofego Leão (January 19, 1942, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil — June 7, 1989, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), best known as Nara Leão, was a diverse MPB singer, acoustic guitarist and occasional actress and songwriter, associated with many genres and movements, such as bossa nova, samba de morro, protest song, Tropicália, música nordestina and others, quickly gaining the title of "Musa da Bossa Nova" (Muse of Bossa Nova) ever since the beginning of her career. When she was twelve, her father gave her a guitar since he was worried about her being shy. Popular musician and composer Patricio Teixeira and classical guitarist Solon Ayala were her teachers. While still a teenager, she met a number of singers and composers who took part of Bossa Nova's musical revolution, in late 50s and early 60s, including Roberto Menescal, Carlos Lyra, Ronaldo Bôscoli, João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim. By 1963, after singing as an amateur for a few years, she became a professional and toured with Sergio Mendes. In the mid-1960s, the institution of military dictatorship in Brazil led her to sing increasingly political lyrics. Her show "Opinião" reflected her political beliefs and she had largely switched to political music by this point. In 1964, she even spoke against bossa nova as a movement, calling it "alienating". In 1968, being part of the Tropicália movement, she appeared on the album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses, performing "Lindonéia." She later left Brazil for Paris and in
