Amalia Rodrigues

Born: 1920 in Lisbon, Portugal [Alfama] - Died: Oc

The unrivaled queen of the Portuguese fado, singer Amália Rodrigues was born in Lisbon's Alfama district in 1920; one of ten children, she was abandoned by her mother at the age of one and raised by her grandmother, spending her formative years selling produce on the streets and working as a seamstress. Against the wishes of her family, as a teen Rodrigues performed as a tango dancer, and at 19 she made her professional singing debut alongside her sister Celeste at the fashionable Lisbon nightspot Retiro da Severa. Within a year she was a star, selling out clubs every night; in 1944, she traveled to Brazil, drawing huge crowds during her stay at the Copacabana Casino and later returning to Rio de Janeiero to make her first recordings. Rodrigues not only popularized the fado throughout South America, she reinvented it — brilliantly fusing the urban and rural styles of Lisbon and Coimbra, she also sought out material which moved far beyond the traditional tales of failed romance to instead explore the deepest crises of the soul and spirit, delivering performances unmatched in their fatalistic power and haunting beauty.
Because Rodrigues' manager José de Melo believed her native fans would stop attending her live appearances if they could buy her recordings, she did not enter a Portuguese studio until 1951, issuing a handful of sides on the Melodia label before moving to the Valentim de Carvalho imprint the following year. In the wake of World War II she began touring outside of South America, and scored an international hit in 1955 with "Coimbra," recorded live at Paris' Olympia Theater. In all, Rodrigues recorded upwards of 170 albums and even appeared in a number of feature films, retaining her drawing power even after the popularity of fado itself began to dissipate during the 1960s. She continued touring well past her 70th birthday, entering retirement only after undergoing surgery; she spent the final years of her life as a recluse, making her final public appearance at the opening of Lisbon's Expo 1998. Rodrigues died October 6, 1999 at the age of 79; upon receiving news of her passing, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres ordered three days of national mourning, declaring her "the voice of Portugal."

Discography:

Albums:
1956 Live at the Olympia Theatre
1987 Com Que Voz
1989 Fados e Guitarradas
1990 Fado
1990 Sings Portugal
1991 Queen of the Fado
1992 Plus Beaux Fados
1992 American Songs
1992 Cantigas Numa Lingua Antiga
1992 Coimbra A World of Music
1992 Fado: Amália Volta a Cantar Frederico Valério
1993 Surun Air de Quitare
1994 Raizes
1995 Amalia Rodrigues [O Melhor Dos Melhore] O Melhor Dos Melhore
1995 Enlightenment
1996 At the Olympia Theatre [live]
1996 Fado Lisboeta Sounds of the World
1996 Queen of the Fado
1997 Amalia in Italia
1997 Segredo Valentim De Carvalho
1998 Obsessao
1998 Song in an Ancient Tongue
1998 Ai Mouraria
1998 Fado Amalia
1998 Fado Malhoa
1998 Triste Sina, Vol. 2
1999 Musica Do Portugal: O Fado
1999 Rainha Do Fado
1999 A Dama Do Fado
2000 Live at Town Hall
2000 Fado
2000 Live in Japan
2001 Triste Sina
2001 Amalia/Vinicius
2004 Fado Amalia
2005 Reina del Fado Canta Fados, Rancheras
2005 Amalia Rodrigues With Don Byas
2006 Uma Casa Portuguesa
2006 Fado Portugues