Well, it’s been slow going with the updates here. I’ve been occupied by other musical matters but I’ll try to get back in the swing. In the past few months I’ve been getting a crash course** education on legendary Brazilian musicians. So, while I still have a long way to go, I think it would be an appropriate show of gratitude to discus some of what I learned. I present to you Wilson Simonal. Simonal was a phenomenal musician who managed to become one of his country’s first Black pop stars. One of the things that pulled me to Simonal was the style he pioneered, “pilantragem.” He would essentially rework songs from other artists and make them into something of his own. I make no effort to hide the fact that the Hip-hop in me gave a Cheshire smile at that. There came a time when Bossa Nova’s popularity was on the decline as more-and-more of the Brazilian public began to embrace Beatles-like pop music. Wilson Simonal remained resolved to follow his own passion and began to infuse his music with more elements of soul, jazz and samba. Simonal was a follower of his own passions. He recorded a Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. He flipped the song “Lemon Tree” and made it a hit as “Meu Limão, Meu Limoeiro,” and he sported a part in his hair so precise, I’m certain in must have given his barber millions of dollars in new business. The man was a force, but he was still just a man. In 1971 he discovered his accountant was embezzling money from him. He chose to have some friends deal with him to get a confession, rather than take him to court. Again, he was still just a man and honestly, that’s likely the same way I would first think to handle it. Unfortunately, this would eventually lead to false allegations being made against him, as being a government informant. It was said that his job was to report on the activities of other musicians and celebrities. Despite there being no validity to the claims, the rumor was believed and the damage was done. He spent the rest of his years feeling like an outcast in the country he loved so dearly. His music was pulled from mainstream distribution and he was blacklisted. It wasn’t until after his death in 2000 that he was finally vindicated. In 2003 his family finally got the government to confirm publicly that Wilson Simonal was never a government informant. Only then was the music he recorded again opening sold again, for people to rediscover and appreciate. I had to do a lot of reading for this one, so I hope you all appreciate this. I’m done with school and you got me doing research projects and having to translate Portuguese websites. I hope I got his story right because God knows he deserves some truth spoken in his name. You should be listening to Wilson Simonal.
**Special thanks goes to my "tutor" and favorite stranger. Keep 'em coming!
