REVISTA DO ROCK - Rio de Janeiro 1960

Brazilian rock had its first mouthpiece in 'Revista do Rock', a monthly magazine devised by  journalist and song-writer Jeanette Adib. It was composed and printed in Rio de Janeiro. Its first issue released in August 1960 had Elvis Presley on the cover.

Miss Adib had been in the music-reporting-business since the early 1950s, having worked for women's rag 'Jornal das Moças', then moved on to illustrated weekly magazine 'Revista da Semana' where she wrote leading articles about show business people like Elvira Pagã who claimed Elvis Presley had 'copied her style'; Chico Alves and the aftermath of his death; Noël Rosa's former partners' lack of inspiration after his death; Cauby Peixoto and the campaign of innuendos about his sexuality promoted by certain reactionary quarters around the nation; Leny Eversong's triumph in Las Vegas, USA; Angela Maria's desire to become a nun and Maysa's estrangement from her ex-husband. 

Jeanette also worked for 'Club dos ritmos' a lyrics-only magazine in 1956 and a did a column 'Vendo e ouvindo' (Seeing and listening) at 'Rio Magazine'. 

Circa 1957, Miss Adib landed a job with powerhouse 'Revista do Radio'. She was to manage one of their off-shoot 'Vamos Cantar', the leading lyrics-only magazine in the country. 

In that same year, owner-director Anselmo Domingos asked Miss Adib to do a special issue of 'Vamos Cantar' featuring rock'n'roll lyrics. They were surprised how quickly it sold out at news-stands all over Brazil. Adib immediately realized there was a strong market for a teenager-oriented publication which had been completely overlooked by the experts in the field. 

Jeanette Adib saw a pot of gold sitting at the end of the rock'n'roll rainbow and started working on the idea of herself launching a lyrics-magazine in which rock'n'roll would have a prominent place. First, though Miss Adib had to prove she could manage a magazine of her own so she made up 'Eu Canto', a lyrics-only magazine. 'Eu canto' became the new-kid-in-the-block by late 1958, competing with the likes of 'Vamos Cantar', 'Canta Moçada', 'A modinha popular', 'Melodias' etc.

'Eu canto' was such a smash hit that Miss Adib launched a second magazine in August 1960: 'Revista do Rock' catered for teen-agers & teeny-boppers and would last for more than a decade. 

Celly Campello & Sergio Murilo as the Queen and King of Brazilian Rock on the cover of Revista do Rock # 19, February 1962.

In the early 1960s, Brazil had two main cultural poles represented in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Rio had been Brazil's capital for 200 years until 21st April 1960, when it was abandoned in favour of Brasilia. But Rio still kept a superior cultural infrastracture throughout the 1960s.

Rio and Sao Paulo had different radio stations, different hit parades and sometimes what played in one city didn't play in the other. Sergio Murilo, had been a child performer and still as a teen ager he covered an Argentine rock tune for Columbia called 'Marcianita' which went up to #1 in 1960. He followed it up with 'Broto legal', a cover of Arlene Fontana's 1959 hit 'I'm in love' and soon was considered Rio de Janeiro's 'King of rock'. Rio's 'queen of rock' could be either Sonia Delfino or Celia Vilela. 

São Paulo was a different milieu... Carlos Gonzaga, who was Black and older than the average heart-throb was actually the best-selling rock'n'roll singer making him a natural 'King of rock'. But that never really happened due to his being Black. Gonzaga was never crowned as King of Rock, full stop.

 Celly Campello on the cover of Revista do Rock  # 9 - April 1961.

Now, in São Paulo there was no doubt who the real rock queen was: Celly Campello, the one and only Celly hailed from a white middle-class family of Italian descent who lived in Taubaté-SP. She had a perfect pitch and could swing to boot. Celly was a natural and there would never be anyone like her. She retired at the 'mature' age of 20 years in April 1962, and married an engineer who worked for Petrobras, the Brazilian national petrol company. 

from left to right.: Lucio Alves, Armando Louzada, Célia Villela, Jeanette Adib and Ademilde Fonseca. 'Jornal das Moças', 5 April 1956.

Jeanette Adib at Radio Nacional (left); Miss Adb inserts her ballot for the Revista do Radio's Best of 1957 competition.

Elvis # 1, August 1960; Sonia Delfino, Sedaka, Cauby & Celly # 2, September 1960.

 Connie Francis # 3, October 1960; Johnny Restivo # 4, November 1960.

Paul Anka Christmas issue # 5, December 1960; Brenda Lee # 6, January 1961; with a heavily touched photo of Brenda Lee on the cover. 

Frankie Avalon # 7, February 1961; Elvis & Juliet Prowse # 8, March 1961.

Celly Campello # 9, April 1961; Fabian # 10, May 1961.

Cliff Richard, Bill Halley & his Comets, Cleyde Alves & Ronnie Cord plus Celly's brother, Tony Campello #11, June 1961; Neil Sedaka # 12, July 1961. 

Connie Francis is the cover girl for the 2nd time at # 13, August 1961, when RR celebrates its 1st year; Sergio Murilo # 14, September 1961.

Cliff Richard # 15, October 1961; Brenda Lee 2nd time on the cover # 16, November 1961.

Elvis on the cover for the 3rd time, # 17, December 1961; Ricky Nelson # 18, January 1962. 

Celly Campello & Sergio Murio # 19, February 1962; Paul Anka # 20, March 1962.

Connie, Frankie Avalon & Tony Campello # 21, April 1962; Brenda Lee, Brian Hyland & Pat Boone # 22, May 1962.

Neil Sedaka, Demétrius & Cleyde Alves # 23 June 1962; Bill Haley # 23, back-cover.

Restivo, Celly & Ronnie # 24 July 1962; Paul Anka (2nd time) # 25, August 1962 (2nd Anniversary);

Elvis (4th time) # 26, September 1962; Chubby Checker, King of Twist # 27, October 1962.

Fabian (2nd time) # 28, November 1962; Brenda Lee & Elvis # 29, December 1962.

Neil Sedaka (3rd time) # 30, January 1963; Tony Campello on the back cover. 

Celly Campello # 31, February 1963 (1st fortnight) 1963;  even 9 months after Celly got married she was still on RR cover. Bobby Darin # 32 February 1963 (2nd fortnight);

Connie Francis # 33, March 1963; Bobby Rydell on the back-cover # 33.

Chubby Checker again # 34, April 1963; Paul Anka # 35, May 1963.

Elvis (6th time) # 36, June 1963; Brenda Lee (5th time) # 37, July 1963.

 Rydell, Cleyde & Joey Dee (Starlighters) # 38, August 1963; Elvis (7th) # 39 September 1963.

Rita Pavone, Paul Anka & Dion (who's been cut out) # 40, 1964. 

Elvis, Sergio Murilo e Johnny Restivo, constantes personagens do Revista do Rock # 5.

Revista do Rock # 10, May 1961; even though Philadelphia rock teen-idols never quite made it in Brazil, Miss Adib's 'Revista do Rock' championed Mr Dick Clark's rookies especially  Fabian because of his good looks. 

Carlos Imperial, Neil Sedaka & RCA man Ramalho Neto.

Fernando Costa, Rio's local rock sensation;  Maureen O'Cannon's 'Oh, Johnny'.

Issue # 10 showing The Platters singing at TV Tupi in Rio de Janeiro in 1957; plus Sergio Murilo & Sônia Delfino - the King & Queen of Rock of Rio de Janeiro. São Paulo had different royalties.

Frankie Avalon # 7, February 1961.

Sergio Murilo as seen by 'Revista do Rock' # 7.

RR deves into Italian rock.

Celly Campello # 9,  April 1961.

Carlos Gonzaga holds his Chico Viola award... Elvis, the Pelvis in blue... 

Célia Vilela wears a blonde wig alongside her sister Marlene; Sergio Murilo's smiling face...

Sergio Murillo & Ronnie Cord at Teatro Record in March 1961. 

Paul Anka's at his parents' Sunday dinner...

Luiz de Carvalho & Ronnie Cord; Neil Sedaka & a Brazilian fan...

George Freedman reads RR and plays the guitar; Sonia Delfino's glossy...

Cliff Richard, Bill Haley, Cleide Alves & Ronnie Cord, Tony Campello # 11, June 1961.

Neil Sedaka # 12, July 1961.

 Sergio Murilo # 14, September 1961.

Cliff Richard # 15, October 1961; Cleide Alves between Roberto Carlos (referred to only as 'a friend') & George Freedman; Sergio Murilo is mobbed by eager fans in São Paulo. 

Neil Sedaka Suplemento December 1961;   Sergio Murilo, Suplemento February 1962.

Celly Campello & Sergio Murilo, February 1962. Renato & seus Blue Caps would have to wait another 3 years until the advent of The Beatles to get noticed by the public.

Chubby Checker # 27,  October 1962.

Revista do Rock Suplemento  # 8, May 1962.

Miss & Mister Rock do Brazil competition. Here are the names and photos of 19 hopeful youngester who wanted to become Mr. or Miss Brazilian Rock: 1. Waldemar Ferreira da Costa; 2. Gelson Assis Dutra (alfaiate); 3. Roberto Alves da Silva; 4. Lucia Marcia Ribeiro dos Santos (Colégio Santa Teresa); 5. Ellen Farinazo; 6. Peter Fricke (estudante de contabilidade); 7. Renato Purchel (Niteroi); 8. Jose Fernando Barroca (torneiro); 9. Delcio Meirelles; 10. Accacio Paulino (tintureiro); 11. Marcio Tadeu Pires Afonso (auxiliar-de-justiça); 12. Silas Marques Peres; 13. Jorge Ney Lepesten; 14. Carmelina Ruz; 15. Idicéia Rodrigues Barbosa (estudante contabilidade); 16. Robson Ananias (dactilografo); 17. Sonia Regina Fonseca; 18. Mairanka (?); 19. João Alfredo Neto (Sorocaba).

Neil Sedaka # 30, January 1963.

Connie Francis # 32, March 1963; Celly Campello on the back cover. 

Bobby Rydell, Cleide Alves & Joey Dee # 38, September 1963.

Histórico da  Revista do Rock

O número 1 da Revista do Rock é de Agosto de 1960 com Elvis Presley na capa. Sendo mensal , a RR foi publicada de Agosto de 1960 a Novembro de 1965.

A partir do número 52 já aparecem na capa Agnaldo Rayol e Rosemary. A fase inicial é a mais interessante, pois as fotos que saiam dos cantores brasileiros eram da fase inicial do rock.

Publicação Mensal da Editora Rio Branco Ltda.

Diretora: Jeanette Adib

Redação: José Adib – (chefe) – Saldanha Marinho – Carlota – Van Gold – Carlos de Souza - Tesourinha

Redação: Avenida Rio Branco, 185/5º.andar – grupo 520 – Rio – Tel: 42-0319

Distribuidor exclusivo para todo o Brasil: Fernando Chinaglia – Rua Teodoro da Silva, 907 – Rio de Janeiro

Venda avulsa: Cr$ 20,00; Assinaturas: Semestral – Cr$ 180,00 – Anual – Cr$ 360,00

Tony Campello, Demétrius, Cleide Alves, Ronnie Cord, Carlos Gonzaga  nunca mereceram uma capa somente deles. Talvez tenha saído em alguma RR que eu não tenha. Mas como teclei acima, as que me faltam são já da época da JG. A fase inicial alguns cantores brasileiros apareceram na capa com outros cantores brasileiros e estrangeiros. Já Roberto Carlos merece uma capa, mas aí já está na época da JG.

Concordo que a coleção é um tesouro e eu também cortei vários retratos para fazer um álbum. É uma revista muito difícil de se encontrar em sebos.  A Revista do Rock era uma revista carioca, com distribuição para todo o Brasil, haja vista seu irmão comprou alguns números.

A Revista do Rock pegou a parte do rock que nós, da 2a. geração do rock, mais gostamos.

Eu considero meu irmão Fernando, nascido em 1946 como da 1a. geração do rock, e nós, que nascemos no finalzinho dos anos 40 (eu em 1949) ou até 1952, como da 2a. geração do rock.

Meu irmão Osvaldo, que nasceu em 1953, eu já considero da 3a. geração do rock, pois ele já foi fã da Jovem Guarda, ao passo que nós, da 1a. e 2a. geração não fomos fãs da JG.

Que tal essa minha 'definição'?  Tirei agora da minha cabeça, mas faz todo sentido do mundo.

Conversava eu com um amiga sobre meu relacionamento com os fãs de várias correntes musicais. Eu disse a ela:  'Eu percebo que um cara é mais jovem do que eu quando ele gosta de Jovem Guarda!'  Se fulano/fulana gosta de JG é porque tinha menos de 14 anos em 1965.

Apesar da Revista do Rock ter terminado em Novembro de 1965, justamente quando a chamada Jovem Guarda começava seu 'reinado', ela foi 'ressuscitada' em meados da década de 70. O tamanho diminuiu e ficou como se fosse uma Vigu (Violão & Guitarra) ou uma revista Intervalo.

Montagem feita pela seção de Arte da 'Revista do Rock' em 1964, mostrando Rita Pavone, recortada da capa de seu 1o. album de 1963 e Paul Anka numa foto de 1962. Por incrível que pareça, Anka & Pavone acabaram gravando dois duetos nos estúdios da RCA em Berlin em 1964. 'Revista do Radio' não era apenas uma revista, mas adivinhava o futuro também.

Letra de 'Hey mama' e foto dos irmãos Tony & Celly Campello em azul; Fã-clubes aproveitavam as páginas da Revista do Rock para anunciarem de graça seus endereços.

Lyrics-magazine 'Eu canto' # 22 had this special rock'n'roll-lyrics-only edition in 1959 and it sold completely out just like 'Vamos Cantar' had done in 1957. Actually, Cauby Peixoto's photo came from Jeanette Adib's archives as she had written an article for 'Jornal das Moças' - a 1950s women's magazine that Miss Adib used to work for.

1959's Rock-special-edition of 'Eu canto' had the same lay-out 'Revista do Rock' would incarnate 6 months later. Jeanette Adib didn't have to do much thinking about the lay-out of the new magazine she planned to launch in August 1960: a lot of lyrics, a lot of pictures even if they were not the best quality around... and a few biographies of heart-throbs and cool dudes.

'Eu canto' # 4, 1960.

Celly Campello, Tony Campello, Neil Sedaka, Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Paul Anka, Sergio Murilo, Connie Francis, Frankie Lymon, Frankie Avalon & Fabian. Where is Carlos Gonzaga? 

Brazilian rock had many phases. First came those old acts like Nora Ney, Cauby Peixoto, Agostinho dos Santos that eventually sang fox-trots. When Bill Haley & His Comets went to #1 in Brazil, multinational labels like RCA Victor, Columbia, Odeon (EMI) drummed up their staff to sing anything related to the new craze so Nora Ney was told to record 'Rock around the clock' in English but it could not compete with the original product. Agostinho dos Santos went a step further and covered Bill Haley's 'See you later alligator' as 'Até lógo, jacaré'... then Cauby Peixoto recorded 'Rock em Copacabana' written by publicity man Miguel Gustavo which is considered the first Brazian rock'n'roll.

In 1958, guarania-singer Carlos Gonzaga covered Paul Anka's 'Diana', which went to Number One all over the country. By mid-1959, an unknown teenager from Taubaté-SP covered Neil Sedaka's 'Stupid cupid' which was the best selling single of the year. 

Three years later, in 1962, an instrumental guitar-band called The Jet Blacks took a cover of The Shadows' 'Apache' to #1 and changed the landscape... every young man wanted to buy a guitar and become a rock'n'roller.

Jeanette Adib as a song-writer 

'Dê o fora' (Roberto Carlos-Jeanette Adib) recorded by Wanderlea in her 1964 EP for CBS 56154.

'Ouvindo o ring-a-ding' (Hey Ring-a-ding) (Eddie Curtis) originally recorded by Connie Francis on 9 January 1962 - adapted in Portuguese by Jeanette Adib - included in Meire Pavão's 1965 album 'A Rainha da Juventude' released by Chantecler CMG-2333.

'Eu não ligo, baby' (Ain't that better, baby?) (Cathy Lynn-Phil Medley) originally recorded by Connie Francis on 4 January 1962 - adapted in Portuguese by Jeanette Adib - included in Meire Pavão's 1965 album 'A Rainha da Juventude' released by Chantecler CMG-2333.

'A loucura das garotas' (Paulo Sette-Jeanette Adib) by Cyro Aguiar in 1966 for Continental Discos (CS-33-405)

'Receita para me conquistar' (Jeanette Adib-Aluizio) by Cyro Aguiar in his 1967 LP 'Inspiração' - Continental PPL-12.312.