Gal Costa, legendary Brazilian singer, has died at age 77.
The singer, who was one of Brazil’s most famous musical exports, died of heart failure on Friday at his ranch in Minas Gerais state, where he had been living in exile, his publicist says.
He is survived by a husband and three daughters.
His career spanned more than 60 years and he released more than 70 albums in total, though only a few of them were popular.
His hit tunes included “Bolero”, “Samba de minha vida”, “Como se fosse um tio” and “Cafunha”. He recorded with the great singers of the day, such as Nelson Riddle, Chico Buarque, Chico de Oliveira, João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
His hits included “Bolero”, “Samba de minha vida”, “Como se fosse um tio” and “Cafunha”, which has been included in various compilations.
He was also known for his eccentric ways, such as wearing women’s dresses in the 1980s, which caused outrage in the music business.
While he was widely revered as a cultural figure in Brazil, he was also a controversial figure – he was blacklisted from the charts for years in the 1960s and was considered persona non grata in the 1980s.
He was also blacklisted by the state of Rio de Janeiro, which accused him of creating a “vulgar, perverse and obscene” show.
In a 2009 interview, he told news agency Globo that the show had been an experiment.
“The idea was to show that women could perform in a traditional way like men do,” he said, adding that it was intended to be a fun show.
The performer also said he had not been happy with being blacklisted: “I felt as if I was in prison. I had no rights like other artists.”
His publicist, Renan Campos, told Brazilian radio channel Telejornal on Friday that the singer died at 5.35pm (0835 GMT), after complaining of heart palpitations.
