Biography

José Afonso was born in August 1929, in Aveiro, Portugal.

His early recordings in the 1950’s revealed one of the most brilliant Fado de Coimbra bohemian singers in the country. In the 1960’s José Afonso started to move away from Fado, blending traditional popular music styles into his novel lyrics and melodic ballads. He picked up on these traditions as a highschool teacher across the country and later in Mozambique. He also becomes more politically and socially aware, coming under the radar of the dictatorial regime’s attention, with some songs (ex. ‘Os Vampiros’) officially censured by the political police (PIDE). By the early 1970’s he had become the voice and the hopes of a muzzled people in a country at war with the African liberation movements.

His 13 LPs recorded between 1968 and 1985 are a journey in the continuous innovation of the portuguese folk music scene:  “Cantares do Andarilho” 1968, “Contos Velhos Rumos Novos” (1969), “Traz Outro Amigo Também” (1970, recorded in London), “Cantigas do Maio” (1971, in Paris), “Eu Vou Ser Como a Toupeira (1972, in Madrid), “Venham Mais Cinco” (1973, in Paris), “Coro dos Tribunais” (1974), “Com as Minhas Tamanquinhas” (1976), “Enquanto Há Força” (1978), “Fura Fura” (1979), “Fados de Coimbra e Outras Canções” (1981), Como se Fora seu Filho” (1983), and “Galinhas do Mato” (1985). His last concert, at Lisbon’s Coliseu in 1983 when he was already diagnosed with ALS, was also released that year. He died in 1987.

José Afonso’s ‘Grandola Vila Morena’ would become the radio signal and later the hymn for the militar revolution on 25th April 1974. His unique musical and songwriting legacy remains timeless, young, ever more relevant and worthy of being discovered by new generations. The release of “Coro da Primavera” as a single on the 25th of April 2021 marks the opening of a new era of discovery.