Teixeirinha | |
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Statue of Teixeirinha in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
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Background information | |
Birth name | Vítor Mateus Teixeira |
Born |
Rolante, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
3 March 1927
Died | 4 December 1985 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
(aged 58)
Genres | Brazilian gaucho music |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
Instruments | Vocals, acoustic guitar |
Years active | 1953–1985 |
Labels | Warner Music do Brasil, Chantecler, Copacabana, Continental |
Associated acts | Mary Terezinha |
Website | www |
Teixeirinha (pronounced tay-shay-REE-ñuh), given name Vitor Mateus Teixeira, was a Brazilian musician. Teixeirinha is the diminutive form of the common Brazilian surname of Teixeira.
Teixeirinha was born in Rolante, Rio Grande do Sul, on March 3, 1927. Teixeirinha's father, Saturnino Teixeira, died when young Vitor was 6 years old. He had a brother and two sisters. His mother, Ledurina Mateus Teixeira died when Teixeirinha was just 9 years old. Afterwards, he lived with relatives and did many small jobs to support himself, like working on farms, delivering newspapers, etc.
At eighteen years of age, he enlisted into the army, but never served. During this time, he worked for the DAER (Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem) for six years. He left to try a singing career on the radio.
Teixeirinha met his wife Zoraida Lima Teixeira in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, as he traveled through various cities singing on local radio stations trying to start his artistic career. They married in 1957 and moved to Soledade. They then moved to the city of Passo Fundo where Teixeirinha sang on the Municipal Radio of Passo Fundo.
Teixeirinha received his first invitation to record in 1959. He recorded "Xote Soledade" and "Briga no Batizado", (Fight at the Baptism) in São Paulo. Soon after, he wrote Coração de Luto (Mourning or Grieving Heart), which was the first B-side of his fourth album. It has since sold 25 million copies around the world. In 1961, Teixeirinha had sold more than 1 million albums and the recording house couldn't keep up with demand for his recordings. He moved to Porto Alegre but kept travelling to São Paulo until May 1961 when he settled in Porto Alegre.
By 1963, he was traveling through Brazil known as the "Gaúcho Coração do Rio Grande." In that same year, he won the "Chico Viola," an award given on Star Disk, which was a gala program on Brazilian TV. The award was for the artist with the best-selling album of the year. Teixeirinha was the biggest selling artist in Brazil for two years (1962-1963).