Tim Maia (pron. IPA: [tʃĩ majɐ]), (September 28, 1942 - March 15, 1998), born Sebastião Rodrigues Maia in Rio de Janeiro was a Brazilian musician. He was known for his iconoclastic, ironic, outspoken, and polemical (but always humorous) musical style. He was also known for his habit of lightheartedly missing appointments and even important gigs[1]. Maia performed in a variety of musical genres, ranging from happy and energetic dance music to sentimental songs, such as his hit "Me Dê Motivo" (Paulo Massadas/Michael Sullivan). He performed soul music, funk, bossa nova (in the '90s), romantic songs, American pop, samba, baião, and MPB. In the '90s, he was recognized by a generation of younger pop musicians who re-recorded several of his hits. These included Skank, Lulu Santos, Araketu, Paralamas do Sucesso, and Marisa Monte, in addition to other established artists such as Elis Regina and Gal Costa who also recorded his compositions.
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Biography
Early career
Maia started to write his earliest songs at eight and at 14, as a drummer, he formed the group Os Tijucanos do Ritmo, which lasted one year. He then took guitar classes and was soon teaching the kids in the neighborhood of Tijuca, in Rio, including the Matoso gang (Maia, Jorge Ben, Erasmo Esteves, later Erasmo Carlos, and several others), named after the street where they used to hang out. In that period, Maia was the guitar teacher of Esteves and when Roberto Carlos joined the gang in 1958, he also took classes with him. Tim Maia, Carlos, and Esteves (together with Edson Trindade, Arlênio Lívio, and José Roberto "China") formed the group The Snacks (later The Sputniks), playing balls and performing on TV (including on Carlos Imperial's Clube do Rock on TV Continental, where Carlos was already a regular). The group was soon dissolved due to incompatibility between Carlos and Maia. After his father's demise in 1959, Maia won a scholarship to study TV communications in the USA, where he lived for four years. There he started as a vocalist, having joined the Ideals, but in 1963, he was arrested for possession of marijuana[2]. Jailed for six months and then deported to Brazil, he didn't find any warmth on the part of his old comrades Esteves and Carlos, who were beginning to enjoy the massive success of Jovem Guarda, which would get a grip on the entire country in a few years. Moving to São Paulo, he had some support from Os Mutantes instead. Having recorded in 1968 his first single (CBS) with his compositions "Meu País" and "Sentimento," he became more visible after 1969 when he launched his "These Are the Songs," which was re-recorded by Elis Regina in the next year, in duo with him and included on Regina's Em Pleno Verão.
The 70's
In the '70s, Maia started to record albums and do shows promoting his indigenous synthesis of American soul and Brazilian music with elements of samba and baião. The movement gradually took the working-class suburbs of the north side of Rio de Janeiro, exploding in 1976 with the black movement. In 1970 Tim Maia recorded his first LP, Tim Maia (Polygram), that had the classics "Azul da Cor do Mar" (Maia), "Coroné Antônio Bento" (Luís Wanderley/João do Vale), and "Primavera" (Cassiano), and topped the charts for 24 weeks in Rio de Janeiro. Next year's Tim Maia Vol. 2 had other everlasting hits: "Não Quero Dinheiro (Só Quero Amar)" (Maia), and "Preciso Aprender a Ser Só" (Marcos Valle/Paulo Sérgio Valle). Tim Maia Vol. 4 (1973) had "Réu Confesso" (Maia) and "Gostava Tanto de Você" (Édson Trindade). Maia founded two record labels: Vitória Régia Discos and Seroma. Through the latter he released the albums Tim Maia Racional, Vols. 1 & 2 that expressed his infatuation with the religious/philosophical sect Universo em Desencanto. Although these albums were not well received at their time of release, they are now regarded as classics and saw re-release in 2005. In 1978 Maia had one of his biggest hits, "Sossego," and another success with "Acenda o Farol," both launched on Tim Maia Disco Club (Warner Bros. Records).
The 80's and 90's
In 1983, he had hits with "O Descobridor dos Sete Mares" (Gilson Mendonça/Michel) and "Me Dê Motivo" (Paulo Massadas/Michael Sullivan), included on O Descobridor dos Sete Mares (Polygram). Another milestone of his career in the decade of 1980 was Tim Maia (Continental, 1986), which had the hit "Do Leme ao Pontal (Tomo Guaraná, Suco de Caju, Goiabada Para Sobremesa)" (Maia). In 1990, he interpreted bossa nova classics on an album released through his label Vitória Régia that wasn't noticed, the LP Tim Maia Interpreta Clássicos da Bossa Nova. After a period of poor presence in the media, he was again on top after being mentioned by Jorge Ben Jor's "W/Brasil" in 1993. In the same period, Maia had another hit with his re-recording of "Como Uma Onda" (Lulu Santos/Nelson Motta) for a TV ad. At the same time, he withdrew from majors, recording his next albums through Vitória Régia, including What a Wonderful World (1997), where he recorded American pop/soul classics, and Amigos do Rei/Tim Maia e Os Cariocas, with the famous vocal group. Obese and in bad health, in March 1998 he was doing a gig at the Municipal Theater of Niterói when he became ill. Hospitalized, he died of pulmonary edema few days later. In 1999, he was paid tribute in a show by several MPB artists. The show was launched on CD and DVD. In 2000, he had another tribute, also released in CD.
References
- ^ Motta, Nelson (2001). Noites Tropicais. Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva. ISBN 85-7302-292-2.
- ^ Motta, Nelson (2001). Noites Tropicais. Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva. ISBN 85-7302-292-2.
