Clara Nunes

To understand the impact of Brazilian singer Clara Nunes, just consider her nickname “Queen of Samba”. Born Clara Francisca Gonçalves on August 12, 1942, She showed her singing ability early, winning a local talent contest as a child. Although she labored as a weaver during her teenage years, her boyfriend proved to be her entre to the music business. She was convinced by a record producer to change her name. She became a regionally popular radio performer, which led to her first television show, Clara Nunes Presents, in 1963. By the early 70s she focused her recordings on samba and her 1971 self-titled album featured the hit “Tristeza Pé No Chão”, the first single by a female artist to sell over 100,000 copies in Brazil. She helped spawn an interest in female performers that powered two of her contemporaries, Alcione and Beth Carvalho, into the national spotlight. She proceeded to release 10 albums over the rest of the 1970s, scoring her biggest sales success with 1975’s Claridade and the 1976 follow-up Canto das três raças. She branched out from Salsa and began fusing it with traditional African music, as well as recording many songs devoted to Candomblé, her religion. She died during complications for varicose vein surgery on April 2, 1983, however her celebrity and influence remained strong decades after her passing.

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