José Afonso

José Afonso was born in August 1929, in Aveiro, Portugal. His early recordings in the 50’s reveal one of the most brilliant singers of Fado de Coimbra. Into the 60’s he moves away from this classic repertoire and starts blending traditional popular music styles into his novel lyrics and melodic ballads. He also becomes more politically and socially aware, coming under the radar of the dictatorial regime’s attention, with songs (ex. ‘Os Vampiros’) officially censured by the political police (PIDE). By the early 70’s he had become the voice of a muzzled people in a country sending their young to war with the African liberation movements. ‘Grandola Vila Morena’ would become the radio signal and later the hymn for the military revolution on 25th April 1974. José Afonso’s landmark 14 LPs are a unique journey into the contemporary Portuguese folk music scene:  “Baladas e Canções” (1967), “Cantares do Andarilho” (1968), “Contos Velhos Rumos Novos” (1969), “Traz Outro Amigo Também” (1970, recorded in London), “Cantigas do Maio” (1971, Paris), “Eu Vou Ser Como a Toupeira (1972, Madrid), “Venham Mais Cinco” (1973, Paris), “Coro dos Tribunais” (1974), “Com as Minhas Tamanquinhas” (1976), “Enquanto Há Força” (1978), “Fura Fura” (1979), “Fados de Coimbra e Outras Canções” (1981), “Como se Fora seu Filho” (1983), and “Galinhas do Mato” (1985). His last concert, at Lisbon’s Coliseu in 1983 when already suffering from advanced ALS disease, is released that year. José Afonso dies in 1987.