Cazuza
| Cazuza | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Agenor de Miranda Araújo Neto |
| Born | 4 April 1958 |
| Origin | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Died | 7 July 1990 (aged 32) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Genres | Brazilian rock, blues rock, alternative rock, MPB |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1981–1990 |
| Associated acts | Barão Vermelho |
| Website | cazuza.com.br |
Agenor de Miranda Araújo Neto, better known as Cazuza (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaˈzuzɐ]; 4 April 1958 – 7 July 1990), was a Brazilian singer and songwriter, born in Rio de Janeiro. Along with Raul Seixas, Renato Russo and Os Mutantes, Cazuza, both while fronting Barão Vermelho and at solo career, is considered one of the best exponents of Brazilian rock music. In 9 years of career, he sold more than 5 million albums and achieved 11 number one singles and 18 Top 10 singles in Brazil.
Son of the record producer João Araújo and the amateur singer Maria Lúcia Araújo, Cazuza always had close contact with music. Influenced since early childhood by the strong values of Brazilian music, he had a special preference for the sad, dramatic overtones of Cartola, Lupicinio Rodrigues, Dolores Durán, and Maysa. He began to write lyrics and poems around 1965. In late 1974, a vacation in London, England, acquainted him with the music of Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and The Rolling Stones, and he soon became a great fan. Cazuza enrolled in college in 1978, but abandoned the course of journalism three weeks later to work with his father at Som Livre. He moved later to San Francisco, where he came in contact with Beat literature, becoming highly influenced by it.
In 1980 he returned to Rio, where he worked with the theatrical group Asdrúbal Trouxe o Trombone (Asdrúbal Brought the Trombone). There he was noticed by the novice singer/composer Léo Jaime, who introduced him to a beginning rock band that needed a vocalist, the Barão Vermelho. With this very successful eighties Brazilian rock band, who had their greatest success with "Bete Balanço", a song that was part of the soundtrack of a film, Cazuza began his career as a singer. In 1985, Cazuza took part in Rock in Rio with Barão Vermelho (Red Baron), and around this time, Caetano Veloso claimed he was the greatest Brazilian poet of his generation. It was also in this same year that Cazuza was infected with the AIDS virus, precipitating his desire to leave the band in order to obtain a greater freedom in composition and expression, both musically and lyrically.
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