The Mustangs - Hybrid-English-act genesis - 1966

Brazilians have sung in English since I don't know when. Nilo Sergio recorded quite a few 78 rpms in the 1950s. Tony & Celly Campello's very first single for EMI-Odeon was 'Forgive me' b/w 'Handsome boy'. There was an independent label called Young (1959-1960) which recorded Brazilian acts performing exclusively in the English language. 

But nothing compares with a new trend - I actually call it 'Hybrid-English-acts' - which started in late 1971, when Terry Winter recorded 'You'll notice me'. Terry who started singing rock in Portuguese in the mid-1960s was a Brazilian act named Tommy Standen whose parents were British expats. After trying really hard (in vain) to break into the recording scene Standen finally switched to writing his songs in English to compete with American and British bands that commanded the charts. 

Now, let's go back five years in time to late 1966, and see who actually started this new trend that took half-a-decade to lift off. 

(6290) This is not the Great Rock'n'roll Swindle but a Brazilian-style Rip-off Scheme that RCA artistic director Ramalho Netto engendered. It all started at the week-end of 27 August 1966, when Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny' reached #2 at Billboard's and 'See you in September' by The Happenings got to #3. 

Eager to make a buck, Ramalho summoned Toninho Paladino, a record-shop owner at Rua Augusta in São Paulo who knew a garage band that covered US & British hits and made them an offer: to cover those songs for the Brazilian market. They were: Helio Eduardo Castilho de Toledo da Costa Manso (vocal), Paulo Afonso Lello Sampaio (bass), João Rodrigues da Cunha Neto (drums), Antonio Carlos da Gama e Silva (guitar), Luiz Marcelo Gaggiano and Sonia Maria Abreu (vocal). 

'See you in September' had been first recorded by The Tempos in 1959, having reached #23. Eight years later, The Happenings, a vocal group from Paterson, N.J. covered it for B.T.Puppy Records and it hit the big time. As soon as 'See you in September' was released in Brazil (by Mocambo-Rosenblit) in October 1966, and started playing on the radio, RCA, released its cover-of-the-cover and to fool the record-buying public RCA called the up-to-now nameless band as The Happiness! 

When Mocambo's owner found out about the swindle, he rang up Mr Ramalho and probably threatened him with a law-suit, so RCA stopped printing the band's name as The Happiness and came up with The Mustangs, a name they carried on until they switched to Sunday, in early 1970, and recorded an E.P. for independent label Som/Maior featuring a cover of Lou Christie's 'I'm gonna get married' which went to #1 in the charts for many weeks.   

This whole story (and much more) is well told by Ayrton Mugnaini at:

http://ayrtonmugnainijr.blogspot.com/2019/09/eternas-ondas-tropicais-e-musicais.html

(6362) The Mustangs with their 2nd release: they cover Cliff Richard & The Shadows'  'In the country' b/w  'When summer is gone', done originally by Gary Lewis & his Play Boys.

(6424) The Mustangs cover two Procol Harum songs: 'Homburg' b/w 'Conquistador' (Gary Brooker-Keith Reid) that were not released in Brazil due to a contractual dispute between Deram & EMI-Odeon.

(6520) The Mustangs's cover of 'Proud Mary' was their last single before they changed their name to Sunday, and were signed by Som Maior, where they covered Lou Christie's 'I'm gonna get married' on an E.P. which went to #1 nationally. 

In 1970, The Mustangs would change their name to Sunday and have a #1 hit with a cover of Lou Christie's 'I'm gonna get married' ('Tema de amor' de Titina) that was featured in 'Super Plá', a popular tele-novela on TV Tupi which ran from December 1969 to May 1970. Later on, Helio Eduardo Costa Manso, would change his name to Steve MacLean and record as if he were a foreign act.

Neno, bass player with The Clevers (1940-2014)

Dermeval Teixeira Rodrigues aka Neno, was born in Presidente Epitácio-SP on 15 June 1940, died on 3 December 2014. 

Neno studied law at USP at Largo de São Francisco, played bass for The Clevers (1963-1966), joined rival band The Jordans where he played mostly trumpet alongside his younger brother Irupê. 

Neno rooted for Palmeiras; vatapá being his favourite dish; Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons were his favourite Hollywood stars.

PHOLHAS

Wagner Benatti aka Bitão next to his his father Edmundo, who  holds his sister Vera Lucia on his arms - February 1955.

Bitão at his 1st Communion photo on 25 October 1959. 

Bitão dressed as Bat Masterson & Vera Lucia as a Portuguese cachopa at Carnaval 1962 (February).

Paulo Fernandes (drums), Wagner Benatti (rhythm guitar), Oswaldo Malagutti (bass) & Helio Santisteban (keyboard) at São Paulo's Cathedral's door in 1972.

'Rock around the clock' causes riots in Sao Paulo and Rio

19 December 1956 - eagerly waited 'Rock around the clock' (Ao balanço das horas) premieres at Cines Ipiranga, Trianon, Paulista plus 9 other play-houses in Sao Paulo. Soon, newspapers would report about vandalism happening at Cine Paulista on Rua Augusta.

21st December 1956 - Rio's 'Correio da Manhã' reports about Cine Paulista's being vandalized by middle class youth during the projection of 'Rock around the clock'. Note that the word 'rock'n'roll' is treated as a feminine noun: 'a rock'n'roll'... eventually it would become a masculine noun.

São Paulo - 20 December 1956 - Cenas desagradáveis, como apupos, assovios, berros e depois depredações tiveram lugar no Cine Paulista, na Rua Augusta, quando da exibição do filme 'Rock around the clock' (Ao balanço das horas).

Interessante registrar que cenas semelhantes são registradas em outros cinemas. Os tumultos tem início no momento em que é exibido a dança denominada 'rock'n'roll', que exerce tal influência nos adolescentes, que se poem a dançar também. Em dado momento quase toda a plateia estava imitando os passos da curiosa dança, fumando, dando berros.

Poltronas e móveis foram danificados seriamente, ante os olhos dos guardas que a tudo assistiam, pois não podiam conter a alucinação dos exaltados.

30 December 1956 - After the loss of property due to vandalism and riot perpetrated by middle-class youths, Companhia Serrador, owner of Cine Paulista, stopped the projection of 'Rock around the clock' in all 10 movie-houses and restricted its showing to only Cine Ipiranga where a bigger detachment of policemen were deployed to avoid any repetition of the dramatic scenes.

15 January 1957 - Three weeks after scenes of vandalism and mass hysteria were witnessed during the projection of 'Rock around the clock' in movie-houses in São Paulo, similar incidents happened in Rio de Janeiro in a bigger way. Riots and disturbances occurred at Cine Rian in Copacabana, Cine São Luiz at Largo do Machado and Cine Rex.

Tivemos ontem, no Rio de Janeiro, a repetição de cenas deploráveis praticadas por menores nos cinemas de São Paulo, quando da exibição do filme 'Ao balanço das horas' (Rock around the clock).

No Cine São Luiz, no Largo do Machado, a coisa começou mesmo antes de ter início a sessão das 14:00 horas. Salão cheio, repleto de molecotes que assobiavam a melodia de 'Rock around the clock', acompanhando-a com as mãos e os pés. O barulho, em pouco, era ensurdecedor. Ao ritmo do rock'n'roll, a garotada começou a saracotear, perturbando quem queria assistir ao filme. Em pouco, a baderna se generalizou e a polícia foi chamada. Re-iniciado o filme, a zoada aumentou, o que motivou a interrupção da projeção por diversas vezes, terminando a sessão das 14 horas precisamente às 19 horas. Uma sessão que duraria 2 horas, demorou 5 horas. 

No Cine Rian, na Avenida Atlântica, a baderna começou mesmo na 2a. sessão, às 16:00 horas, com molecotes metidos a play-boys repetindo a história: assobios, acompanhamento do ritmo com palmas e batidas de pés no chão. Aqui, entretanto, foram além: puseram-se a dançar. A sessão teve que ser interrompida enquanto a Polícia não chegava. E nesse meio tempo, os moleques que se encontravam na fila aguardando vez para adquirir ingresso, contagiados pelo som dos assobios que vinha da sala de projeção, batiam o compasso nas latarias dos veículos que, obrigados pelo congestionamento do tráfego, paravam ou transitavam lentamente em frente do Rian.

Ante as reclamações de seus proprietários, pois não raro, cafajestes danificam a pintura de veículos de passeio, passaram a atirar pedras nos automóveis. E a situação ia se agravando a cada instante, até que com a chegada da Polícia, que atirou bombas e gás lacrimogêneo nos manifestantes, os ânimos se acalmaram. Cine Rian foi evacuado e a exibição do filme suspensa, até segunda ordem.

No Cine Leblon, as cenas foram quase as mesmas, e a projeção foi suspensa às 15:40 horas.

Hall at glorious Cinema São Luiz in the 1940s, at Largo do Machado, in Rio de Janeiro, where some of the riots caused by 'Rock around the clock' happened.

Cine Rian while part of the disturbances were taking place in January 1957. 

THE BEVERLYS, the book

It has taken 23 years for Vander Loureiro's book 'THE BEVERLYS' to be published but it finally saw the light of day on 15 December 2018.

The Beverlys were a doo-wop group formed in Penha, a Sao Paulo eastern suburb, in late 1958, exactly 60 years ago. Rock'n'roll was still in its infancy in Brazil.

The Beverlys were all Black and boasted: José Pereira, the guy who had the idea to start a group similar to The Platters that he had seen performing in a movie; Vander Loureiro and his wife Amelia de Paula, Castro & José Mariano. 

to buy a copy of 'The Beverlys' go to: https://www.eviseu.com/pt/livros/142/the-beverlys/

15 December 2018, at Teatro Hangar on Rua Conselheiro Nebias, 305 at Barra Funda.

Vander Loureiro and Olivia Pereira, former wife of José Pereira the founder of The Beverlys.

Vander, Antonio & Olivia with the book in her hands: Vander autographs 'The Beverlys' for José Luiz de Jesus, who provided most of these photos. 

Zé Luiz, Vander, Antonio & Olivia do a Beverlys-Platters imitation...  

Denise Duran, Iracema Tamashiro, Vander Loureiro, Zé Luiz Jesus, Luiz Amorim aka Carlus Maximus, Olivia Pereira and Antonio.