A self-taught guitarist and singer, Gilberto moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1950 and joined the vocal group Garotos da Lua ("The Boys of the Moon") as their lead singer. After a year and a half, he was kicked out of the group for his lack of discipline and spent the next several years in a marginal existence. Eventually, he found his way, creating a new way to express himself in voice and on the guitar. The result of his obsessive experiments became known as bossa nova.
Bossa nova is a refined version of samba, deemphasizing the percussive aspect of its rhythm and enriching the melodic and harmonic content. Rather than relying on the traditional Afro-Brazilian percussive instruments, bossa nova usually utilizes a drum set. João Gilberto often eschews all accompaniment, using only his guitar, which he uses as a percussive as well as a harmonic instrument. The singing style he developed is almost whispering, economical, and without vibrato. He creates his tempo tensions by singing ahead or behind the guitar.
This style, which Gilberto introduced in 1957, created a sensation in the musical circles of Rio's Zona Sul, and many young guitarists sought to imitate it. It was first heard on record in 1958 when João Gilberto accompanied singer Elizete Cardoso in a recording of "Chega de Saudade", a song by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Shortly after this recording, João Gilberto made his own debut single of the same song, followed by the 1959 LP, Chega de Saudade. The song became a hit, launching Gilberto's career and the bossa nova craze.
Besides a number of Jobim compositions, the album Chega de Saudade featured older sambas and popular songs from the 1940s and '50s, all performed in the distinctive bossa nova style. This album was followed by two more in 1960 and 1961, by which time the singer featured new songs by a younger generation of performer/composers such as Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal.
By 1962, bossa nova had been embraced by such North American jazz musicians as Herbie Mann, Charlie Byrd, and Stan Getz, who invited Gilberto and Jobim to collaborate on what became one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, Getz/Gilberto. Through this album, Gilberto's wife, Astrud, became an international star, and the Jobim/de Moraes composition "The Girl from Ipanema" became a worldwide pop music standard for the ages.
João Gilberto continued to perform through the 1960s but did not release another studio album until João Gilberto en México, recorded in 1970 during a period of residence in Mexico. João Gilberto, aka the "White Album" (1973), featured hypnotic minimalist execution and is widely considered to be his best album. The year 1976 saw the release of The Best of Two Worlds, a reunion with Stan Getz, featuring singer Miúcha, sister of Chico Buarque, who had become Gilberto's second wife in April 1965. Amoroso (1977) backed Gilberto with the lush string orchestration of Claus Ogerman, who had provided a similar sound to Jobim's instrumental recordings in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As had been the case for all of Gilberto's albums, the album consisted mostly of Jobim compositions, mixed with older sambas and an occasional North American standard from the 1940s.
Having lived in the US since 1962, João Gilberto returned to Brazil in 1980. The following year saw the release of Brasil, with guests Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, who in the late 1960s had founded the Tropicalia movement, a fusion of Brazilian popular music with foreign pop. The 1991 release, João, with orchestrations by Clare Fischer, was unusual in its lack of even a single Jobim composition, instead featuring songs in English, French, Italian, and Spanish, plus old sambas and the solitary contemporary song "Sampa" (Caetano Veloso). Also released in 1991 was the album Canto Do Pajé by Veloso's sister Maria Bethânia on which Bethânia and Gilberto sing an intimate duet Maria/Linda Flor (Barroso, Peixoto, Vogler, Costa, and Pôrto) accompanied solely by his guitar. João Voz e Violão (2000) was an homage to the music of Gilberto's youth as well as a nod to producer Caetano Veloso.
Evenly interspersed with these studio recordings have been the live recordings, Live in Montreux; João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira; Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar; Live at Umbria Jazz, and Live in Tokyo.
While all of Gilberto's albums since Getz/Gilberto have been released on CD, the first three domestic albums were released in 1988 by EMI on a single CD entitled The Legendary João Gilberto: The Original Bossa Nova Recordings (1958-1961). The disc also included three tracks from the singer's 1959 Orfeu Negro EP: "Manhã de Carnaval," O Nosso Amor, and A Felicidade, the latter two merged into a single medley track to fit within the recording time of a CD. After its release, Gilberto successfully sued to have the title removed from sale as an unauthorized release of his artistic works.
João Gilberto has long had a reputation as an eccentric recluse and a nearly neurotic perfectionist. He lives in an apartment in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, refusing all interviews and avoiding crowds. He has been known to walk out on performances in response to an audience he considers disrespectful or out of theaters possessing acoustics below his standards, and at times demands that the air conditioning be turned off at concert venues. Yet he continues to perform to sell-out crowds in Brazil as well as in Europe, North America, and Japan.
Discography:
1959 - Chega de Saudade (Odeon)
1960 - O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor (Odeon)
1961 - João Gilberto (Odeon)
1962 - The Boss of the Bossa Nova (Atlantic)
1963 - The Warm World of João Gilberto (Atlantic)
1964 - Getz/Gilberto (Verve)
1965 - Herbie Mann & João Gilberto (Atlantic)
1974 - João Gilberto en Mexico (PolyGram)
1976 - Best of Two Worlds (Columbia)
1977 - Amoroso (Warner Brothers)
1981 - Brasil (Warner Brothers)
1986 - João Gilberto Live in Montreux (WEA)
1991 - João (PolyGram)
2000 - João Voz e Violão (Universal)
2002 - Live at Umbria Jazz (Egea)
2004 - João Gilberto in Tokyo (Verve)
Lobo Bobo
João Gilberto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que resolveu jantar alguém
Estava sem vintém
Mas arriscou
E logo se estrepou
Um chapeuzinho de maiô
Ouviu buzina e não parou
E faz cara de triste
Mas chapeuzinho ouviu
Os conselhos da vovó
Dizer que não pra lobo
Que com lobo não sai só
Lobo canta, pede
Promete tudo, até amor
E diz que fraco de lobo
É ver um chapeuzinho de maiô
Mas chapeuzinho percebeu
Que o Lobo Mau se derreteu
Pra ver você que lobo
Também faz papel de bobo
Só posso lhe dizer
Chapeuzinho agora traz
O Lobo na coleira
Que não janta nunca mais
Lobo bobo
Humm!
The lyrics to João Gilberto's song Lobo Bobo tell the story of a hungry wolf who sets out to find prey to eat. Despite having no money, he decides to take a risk and try to catch someone. He sees Little Red Riding Hood in her swimsuit and tries to convince her to come with him, but she remembers her grandmother's advice and refuses to go with him. The wolf sings, begs, promises everything, including love, and says that a weak wolf can't resist a girl in a swimsuit. However, Little Red Riding Hood sees through his guise and realizes that the wolf has fallen for her. Instead of becoming his dinner, she brings him on a leash, and he never eats anyone again.
The song employs a metaphorical and symbolic use of the story of Little Red Riding Hood, common in Brazilian culture, to represent male seduction and the female resistance to it. It also critiques the traditional gender roles that Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf play, by showing that women can be assertive and take control of their situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Era uma vez um Lobo Mau
Once upon a time, there was a wicked Wolf
Que resolveu jantar alguém
Who decided to have someone for dinner
Estava sem vintém
He was penniless
Mas arriscou
But he took a chance
E logo se estrepou
And soon regretted his decision
Um chapeuzinho de maiô
A Little Red Riding Hood in a swimsuit
Ouviu buzina e não parou
Heard a honk and didn’t stop
Mas Lobo mau insiste
But the big bad Wolf insisted
E faz cara de triste
And put on a sad face
Mas chapeuzinho ouviu
But Little Red Riding Hood heard
Os conselhos da vovó
Her granny’s advice
Dizer que não pra lobo
Not to listen to the wolf
Que com lobo não sai só
And not to go out alone with him
Lobo canta, pede
The wolf sings, begs
Promete tudo, até amor
Promises everything, even love
E diz que fraco de lobo
And claims that for a wolf, it’s a weakness
É ver um chapeuzinho de maiô
To see a Little Red Riding Hood in a swimsuit
Mas chapeuzinho percebeu
But Little Red Riding Hood realized
Que o Lobo Mau se derreteu
That the big bad Wolf melted
Pra ver você que lobo
To see you, the wolf
Também faz papel de bobo
Also acts foolishly
Só posso lhe dizer
I can only tell you
Chapeuzinho agora traz
Little Red Riding Hood now brings
O Lobo na coleira
The wolf on a leash
Que não janta nunca mais
So he never dines on anyone else again
Lobo bobo
Silly wolf
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Carlos E. Lyra, Ronaldo F.e. Boscoli
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@danilsondesamassa
Era uma vez um lobo mau
Que resolveu jantar alguém
Estava sem vintém
Mas arriscou
E logo se estrepou
Um chapeuzinho de maiô
Ouviu buzina e não parou
Mas lobo mau insiste
E faz cara de triste
Mas chapeuzinho ouviu
Os conselhos da vovó
Dizer que não pra lobo
Que com lobo não sai só
@anacristinalemosmonteiro447
Esta música é sensacional, e esta versão cantada por João Gilberto me encanta!
@jaque080385
Tem história esta canção. De autoria de Ronaldo Bôscoli, conta seu relacionamento com Nara leão, disse que se endireitou com ela, pois ele tinha fama de "namorador" . Abraços!
@FernandoGracaOficial
Ronaldo Bôscoli assumiu anos depois que a letra conta algo que realmente aconteceu com ele na praia: https://youtu.be/ZWsBzP9aWMw
@jeanjulio7574
Fera
@sivia7713
iam indonesian but i love this song so much
@aninhaprsouza
Welcome to the MPB Brazilian music. Cheers
@SylistheButcherr
This song touches my heart , so creative and beautiful 😻 awwwwwww
@simoneniceas859
Maravilha!!!❤❤❤❤❤
@vavaocabeleira5462
O samba-bossa "Lobo Bobo", é um exemplo bem característico da temática bossa-novista, voltada para a vida daqueles jovens da zona sul-carioca, dos anos cinqüenta....A letra dessa música, satiriza a fome de um playboy, por uma donzela, que era cortejada por todos....Assim surgiu essa música, concebida em duas partes, e de autoria de Carlos Lira ( música ); e Ronaldo Bôscoli ( letra )....Quem fez a orquestração; foi o mestre Tom Jobim, e João Gilberto à gravou ( jan. de 1959 ).....( Walmir Dantas ).
@Fjorlane
Carlos Lyra disse que se inspirou num tema musical do Gordo e o Magro. O lobo era Ronaldo, na certa, rs.