Tim Maia | Artist
Sebastião Rodrigues (Tim) Maia was a Brazilian musician, songwriter, and businessman born 1942 in Rio de Janeiro. Maia pioneered the sambalanco style, combining samba, soul, funk and rock and roll, and is recognized as the father of Brazilian soul music. He began writing melodies while a child, the second youngest of nineteen children. He wrote his earliest songs at age eight and at fourteen, as a drummer, formed the group Os Tijucanos do Ritmo. His Matoso Street gang, which included future musicians Jorge Ben and Roberto Carlos, played guitars and listened to the earliest styles of rock & roll coming from the USA. In 1957 Maia and Carlos started the vocal group The Sputniks. After a televised appearance on Carlos Imperial's Clube do Rock on TV Tupi, Imperial arranged a solo spot for Roberto Carlos the following week, causing a rift between Maia and Carlos which led to the band's breakup. In 1959, Maia went to study in the US, where he lived for five years. He joined a vocal harmony ensemble, The Ideals, but the group's career was derailed in 1963 when Maia was arrested for a string of petty crimes, including possession of marijuana, which saw him deported back to Brazil. Back home, Maia again fell foul of the law but by the end of 1967 managed to send a homemade recording to Carlos, who got Maia a deal for a single at CBS and an appearance on the Jovem Guarda TV program. His first two singles in 1968 went unnoticed but things picked up in 1969 with "These Are the Songs", which was re-recorded by Elis Regina in the next year in a duo with Maia. Maia then signed a deal with Polydor/Philips and recorded the successful single "Primavera." In the 1970s, Maia started to record albums and perform shows promoting his synthesis of American soul and Brazilian music. The movement gradually took the working-class suburbs of the north side of Rio de Janeiro, exploding in 1976 with the black movement. In 1970, Maia recorded his first self-titled LP, which included the classics "Azul da Cor do Mar", "Coroné Antônio Bento", and "Primavera", and topped the charts for 24 weeks in Rio de Janeiro. The artist grew in stature (and in girth) over the ensuing years, releasing over 30 studio albums of consistently high quality. Standouts include the self tiled albums from 1970, 1971 and 1973, plus Racional Vol. 1 & Vol.2 (1975), and O descobridor dos sete mares (1983). Also recommended is the 2012 compilation Nobody Can Live Forever: The Existential Soul of Tim Maia. The story behind the Racional albums is a strange one. In the 70's Maia converted to the cult of 'Rational Culture' and wrote a series of song lyrics about the knowledge contained in the cult's manifesto Universo em Desencanto (Universe In Disenchantment). His record company rejected the albums for their spiritual content, but Maia bought the master tapes and released Tim Maia Racional, Vols. 1,2 & 3 independently through his own Seroma Discos label. Later in life Maia became known for his easygoing lifestyle and his habit of lightheartedly missing appointments and even important gigs. Many of his missed concerts were due to what he called his "triathlon", involving the copious consumption of whiskey, cocaine and marijuana before a gig.
Artist Website: timmaia.com.br
Featured Albums: Tim Maia
Related Artists: Os Sputniks, Ben Jorge, Roberto Carlos
