Brazilian Rock 1957 - 1964: 'Excelsior a go go' 1966

'Excelsior a go-go', a mix of 'Jovem Guarda' and 'Shindig in the Tropics'; from left to right: Rinaldo Calheiros who would be anything but rock, Cidinha Santos of 'Escreve-me' ('Scrivi') fame; Mario Augusto who hit with 'O twist é bom' and 'Terezinha' in 1962; Rosemary, Luiz Aguiar MC, Wanderley Cardoso next to the microphone, Carlos Gonzaga of 'Diana' fame, Jerry Adriani; Giane and Enza Flori.

TV rock show 'Jovem Guarda' started on 22 August 1965 beamed by Sao Paulo's Channel 7, TV Record. It was an instant hit with teenagers who stayed home on late Sunday afternoons to watch Roberto Carlos introduce a string of singers and groups who played live on the stage of Teatro Record on Rua da Consolação.

On Sunday, 27 March 1966, Sao Paulo's Channel 9, TV Excelsior came up with 'Excelsior a go go' its own teen-age rock show to try and beat Roberto Carlos in his own game. At first the command was given to Wanderley Cardoso but after a couple of weeks, the management changed its mind and signed Radio Bandeirantes DJ Luiz Aguiar to MC the show alongside Jerry Adriani.

TV Excelsior poached a few acts from 'Jovem Guarda' as Prini Lorez, Os Vips plus bands Os Incriveis, The Jordans, The Bells and added a few older (Carlos Gonzaga) or lesser stars (Cidinha Santos and Carlos Ely) to its cast.

'Excelsior a go go' beamed at 7:00 pm on Sundays trying to get the same viewing public that had watched 'Jovem Guarda' from 4:30 to around 6:00 o'clock. Producer Jacques Netter had previous experiences having put on rock-shows like Antonio Aguillar's 'Festival da juventude' (later called 'Reino da juventude' when Aguillar was poached by TV Record in early 1964) and other popular musical programmes. Production was lavish with the addition of a whole orchestra commanded by band-leader Sylvio Mazzucca and myriad of dancers that felt like one was watching USA's 'Shindig!' on ABC TV.

Everything was the best possible but there was an structural fault: Jerry Adriani (real name: Jair Alves de Souza born in Belem-Sao Paulo on 29 January 1947) was not popular enough in the city he was born. So even though the show was really good and had an initial following it ended up being scrapped before 1966 was over.

Wanderley Cardoso was 1st choice to command Channel 9's 'Excelsior a go-go' but he was soon replaced by Jerry Adriani and DJ Luiz Aguiar.

It was plain to see 'Excelsior a go go' emulated USA's 'Shindig!' (beamed on ABC from 16 September 1964 to 8 January 1966); from left to right: MC Luiz Aguiar, Ronnie Cord (background), Carlos Gonzaga, bass-player Risonho and guitar-player Mingo plus Rinaldo Calheiros and Carlos Ely in the background; up on the background platforms are The Jordans (left) and The Bells (right).

MC Luiz Aguiar, Os Vips (brothers Marcio & Ronald Antonucci) and Jerry Adriani have a little chat before the music goes on; Jerry Adriani was a nice-looking chap but no competition to Roberto Carlos.

DJ Luiz Aguiar & Jerry Adriani commanded 'Excelsior a go go'; Agnaldo Timoteo sang in it.

brothers Ronnie, Norman & Junior Cordovil as The Cords tried to make a wave as a vocal group but to no avail. Ronnie Cord had been the King of Rock some 3 years back but times were changing really quickly; Cidinha Santos had a mild hit with a cover of Rita Pavone's 'Scrivi! ('Escreve-me') in 1964 but was going nowhere 2 years later; Prini Lorez who dropped his last name to dissociate his image from that of Trini Lopez's who he had shamelessly copied was on the way down too; Carlos Ely was a good singer but not much of a hit either; brothers Os Vips were really good and successful.

'Excelsior a go-go' was beamed on Sunday evening; 'Juventude e Ternura' on Thursday night.

After being sidelined by TV Excelsior's management from 'Excelsior a go-go', Wanderley Cardoso was given 'Juventude e Ternura' a teen-middle-of-the-road rock-show in which he shared with Rosemary. It was on Thursday nights but it was soon axed.

3 April 1966 - TV guide for Sunday in Sao Paulo: at 4:30 PM (16:30) 'Jovem Guarda' on Channel 7 ran up to 6:15 then followed up by 'Thunderbirds'; at 5:30 (17:30) Antonio Aguillar's 'Reino da Juventude' on Channel 5 TV Paulista was a rock show too; then at 7:00 o'clock (19:00) 'Excelcior a go go' on Channel 9 TV Excelsior; two hours later on Channel 9 one could watch 'Elza, Miltinho e Samba' with swinging Elza Soares & Miltinho; 'Help!' (Socorro!) with The Beatles had been shown at the Rio de Janeiro's IV Centenary Film Festival in September 1965 would première on Monday 4 April 1966 at Cine Windsor, Pigalle, Rio, Jussara & eight other suburb cinemas.

Rock'n'roll in Belo Horizonte-MG

3 September 1966 - Saturday afternoon in Belo Horizonte one could watch a few rock'n'roll shows like 'Musica Jovem' on TV Itacolomi, Channel 4 at 2:55 PM; 'Festival da Juventude' at 5:30 on TV Alterosa (Emissora Associada), Channel 2 and 'Show-ventude' (musical ié ié ié) on TV Globo, Channel 12. At 6:00 PM ABC's 'Shindig!' on TV Itacolomi, Channel 4 followed by 'Jovem Guarda' at 6:35 at the same channel.