Around October 1966, an obscure instrumental rock band from Rio de Janeiro started charting their album 'Na base do iê iê iê' aka 'Na base do ié ié ié' they recorded for independent label Equipe which had started only in 1964. On 21 October 1966 The Pop's album was #1 at the weekly album-charts printed by Rio de Janeiro's daily 'Tribuna da Imprensa'.
The album was a hotchpotch of old hits put together in medleys like 'Seleção ié ié ié aka 'As sete maravilhas' (Seven Wonders) that comprised of ever-greens like Lamartine Babo's 'Eu sonhei que tu estavas tão linda' (1941), Ary Barroso's 'Maria' (1932), Henrique Vogeler & Luiz Peixoto's 'Linda flor' (1928), Dorival Caymmi's 'Saudade da Bahia' (1957), Ataulpho Alves' 'Ai que saudade da Amélia' (1942), 'Casinha pequenina' (1910) & João de Barro & Noel Rosa's 'As pastorinhas' (1937) that extended for 4:15 minutes. The record was produced by Toni Vestane, who had been a night-club and recording artist in the 1950s and had been now Oswaldo Cadaxo's junior partner at Equipe.
November 1966 - TV Guide Intervalo
At first there were 3 guys who went to Jacarepagua's National Tecnichal School (Escola Tecnica Nacional): brothers Silvio Jose Stop (took building-projects), Jose Henrique Stop aka Parada (took electronics) and Alipio aka Pipo who took mechanics. Pipo's brother was in the Navy and brought amplifiers & musical instruments back home from abroad so they decided to form a rock band. Silvinho played bass, his brother Parada the drums, Pipo rhythm guitar and a neighbour Mirinho played lead-guitar.
The Pop's played at circuses and dance-clubs in suburbs like Sao Joao do Meriti, Caxias and Nova Iguaçu. Soon they were invited to play at DJ Helio Ricardi programme on Radio Maua on Saturdays from 12:00 to 2:00 PM. Radio Maua had live-music-shows then most of time on Saturday so one day in 1965, when Mirinho didn't show up for the engagement the 3 guys asked Joao Augusto Cesar aka J.Cesar who played in the band of an earlier gong-show to stand in.
J.Cesar had been playing bass & lead-guitar since 1957 with singer Cauby Peixoto at radio stations around Rio de Janeiro. Now J.Cesar played 5 days a week at Radio Maua for Rogeria Gimaraes show and on Saturday he played in the band that accompanied amateur singers in a gong-show emceed by Celia Mara from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon.
Conservative DJ Flavio Cavalcanti had a TV show in which he blasted rock'n'roll as a brainless kind of music made by brainless musicians who didn't know their right foot from their left. He asserted that good music was the one made in the 1930s and 1940s. To prove Mr. Cavalcanti wrong The Pop's rehearsed a medley of 7 old-time hits they called 'As 7 maravilhas' (7 Wonders) ranging from 1910 to 1957 and played it at his Sunday TV show. The medley started slowly and gradually picked up steam with a rock beat that made The Pop's a sensation overnight. By Monday, The Pop's were the darlings of the record companies but somehow they chose to record for independent label Equipe.
Soon the 4 lads went into the CBS studios at Praça da Republica and recorded 'Na base do iê iê iê' an album with the popular medley first presented at the TV show plus a few songs that were on the Hit Parade in 1966: Roberto Carlos' 'Quero que vá tudo p'ro inferno', Wanderley Cardoso's 'Te esperarei' a cover of Ricky Gianco's 'Ti chercherò', The Beatles' 'I need you' (from 'Help!), George Martin's 'All quiet on the Mersey front' he wrote for Gerry & the Pacemakers' film 'Ferry cross the Mersey', which was misprinted as 'Wersey' on the album back-cover. The Pop's completed the album with a few nursery rhyme songs and some original J.Cesar material.
The title of the album 'Na base do iê iê iê' (On the iê-iê-iê style) referred to the way rock'n'roll was now known in Brazil: 'iê iê iê' or 'ié ié ié'. The word was coined out of the title of The Beatles song 'She loves you' yeah, yeah, yeah!
Brazilian translators working for film company United Artists in early 1965 didn't actually know how to translate 'A hard day's night', the title of The Beatles' first film. In Lisbon, the Portuguese translator came up with a weird title: 'Os 4 cabeleiras do após-calypso' a pun on the Bible's 'The four horsemen of the Apocalypse'. In Brazil they came up with this funny idea of calling it 'Os reis do ié ié ié' (The kings of yeah yeah yeah) and the name stuck... rock'n'roll became ié ié ié...
1. Na base do iê iê iê - The Pop's (Equipe)
2. If you can believe your eyes & ears - The Mamas & the Papas (Dunhill-RCA) (2)
3. Dr. Jivago (sound-track) Maurice Jarre (MGM-Philips) (1)
4. The more I see you - Chris Montez (A&M-Fermata)
5. Morte e vida Severina - TUCA (Philips)
6. Samba é Aracy de Almeida (Elenco) (7)
7. Os afro-sambas de Baden e Vinicius (Forma) (6)
8. Strangers in the night - Frank Sinatra (Reprise-Philips)
9. As 14 Mais vol.18 (Sandra-Esqueça) CBS (3)
10. Dois na bossa Numero 2 - Elis Regina & Jair Rodrigues (Philips)
The Pop's 'Na base do ié ié ié' was #1 at the Albums' charts at 'Tribuna da Imprensa' on 21st October 1966.
On the cover of The Pop's 2nd album lead-guitarrist J.Cesar appears prominently on the foreground wearing a light pink shirt; from left to right: drummer Parada (Jose Henrique Stop), rhythm guitarrist Pipo (Alipio) J.Cesar and Silvio Jose Stop (Silvinho, bass-player).
The Pop's extended-play for 1966 Christmas: Silvinho, J.Cesar, Parada & Pipo.
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