Although his roots are in Brazil, Milton Nascimento is an international singing star and songwriter. However, his songs have been heard by millions around the globe. When he was just two years old, Nascimento was adopted by his parents, both of whom were white. They brought him to Tres Pontas in Minas Gerais. His mother was a singer in a local choir, and accompanied Milton at local music festivals. His father, Nascimento, was an electronics tinkerer and math teacher. At one time, he also ran a local radio station, where Milton sometimes worked as a DJ. As a teenager, he began singing. At the age of 19, he moved to Belo Horizonte, where he began singing whenever and wherever he could. In 1966, he finally got a break from the pop singer Elis Regina when he recorded “Cancao do Sal,” one of his songs. His career took off after Regina gave him a show on a Brazilian television program. He recorded Clube da Esquina in 1972 with his fellow lyricists Marcio Bolges, Fernando Brant and Ronaldo Bastos. The double album was a collaboration that produced three hits singles: “Cais (Dock),” “Cravo e Canela (“Clove and Cinnamon”) and “Cravo e Canela (“Clove and Cinnamon). These singles are still being recorded, and have been a standard in Brazil for many years. He has recorded 28 albums since 1967, when he started recording his self-titled debut for Codil. Nascimento has many accomplishments, including Grammy nominations in 1992 for O Planeta Blue na Estrada do Sol and 1995 for Angelus, his Warner Bros. debut. Nascimento was also the winner of the 1992 Downbeat International Critics’ Poll as well as the 1991 Downbeat Readers’ Poll. Nascimento has toured the U.S.A., Europe and Japan as well as Latin America. His extensive discography includes Courage, an album released in 1969 by A. Nascimento.
