Jos\u00e9 Afonso was born in August 1929, in Aveiro, Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His early recordings in the 1950\u2019s revealed one of the most brilliant Fado de Coimbra bohemian singers in the country. In the 1960\u2019s Jos\u00e9 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\u2019s attention, with some songs (ex. \u2018Os Vampiros\u2019) officially censured by the political police (PIDE). By the early 1970\u2019s he had become the voice and the hopes of a muzzled people in a country at war with the African liberation movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His 13 LPs recorded between 1968 and 1985 are a journey in the continuous innovation of the portuguese folk music scene:\u00a0 \u201cCantares do Andarilho\u201d 1968, \u201cContos Velhos Rumos Novos\u201d (1969), \u201cTraz Outro Amigo Tamb\u00e9m\u201d (1970, recorded in London), \u201cCantigas do Maio\u201d (1971, in Paris), \u201cEu Vou Ser Como a Toupeira (1972, in Madrid), \u201cVenham Mais Cinco\u201d (1973, in Paris), \u201cCoro dos Tribunais\u201d (1974), \u201cCom as Minhas Tamanquinhas\u201d (1976), \u201cEnquanto H\u00e1 For\u00e7a\u201d (1978), \u201cFura Fura\u201d (1979), \u201cFados de Coimbra e Outras Can\u00e7\u00f5es\u201d (1981), Como se Fora seu Filho\u201d (1983), and \u201cGalinhas do Mato\u201d (1985). His last concert, at Lisbon\u2019s Coliseu in 1983 when he was already diagnosed with ALS, was also released that year. He died in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jos\u00e9 Afonso\u2019s \u2018Grandola Vila Morena\u2019 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 \u201cCoro da Primavera\u201d as a single on the 25th of April 2021 marks the opening of a new era of discovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jos\u00e9 Afonso was born in August 1929, in Aveiro, Portugal. His early recordings in the 1950\u2019s revealed one of the most brilliant Fado de Coimbra bohemian singers in the country. In the 1960\u2019s Jos\u00e9 Afonso started to move away from Fado, blending traditional popular music styles into his novel lyrics and melodic ballads. He picked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t