Paulinho da Viola, born Paulo Cesar Batista de Faria, November 12, 1942, is a Brazilian guitarist, cavaquinho, and bandolin player. He is known for his delicate harmonies, soft singing voice, and sophisticated lyrics. Paulinho was born in Rio de Janeiro to a samba family. He made many friends with Rio’s elite samba players as a child. Paulinho watched his father play guitar and would watch him practice for hours. Paulinho would take his father’s guitar to rehearsals and play the few chords that he knew. As a teenager, Paulinho was often seen at Jacob do Bandolim’s jams, listening attentively to the more experienced musicians. As a teenager, he began writing songs and never thought of a career as professional musician. He met poet Herminio de Carvalho when he was 64. Paulinho, who was then a teller in a Rio de Janeiro bank, recognized Herminio at Jacob do Bandolim’s house. They became good friends and began to write music together. Duvide-O-Do was the first song that they co-wrote together, and it was recorded by Isaurinha Garcia. The samba legend Cartola, along with his wife, started him singing his own songs in a Rio restaurant. In 1965, he was part of A Voz Do Morro (the Voice of the Hills), a samba group that included Ze Keti, Oscar Bigode and others. He earned his nickname. A publicist at the record label told him that “Paulo Cesar” was not a samba nickname after their first recording session. Ze Keti and Sergio Cabral, a journalist, came up with the name “Paulinho da Viola”, which is something along the lines of “Guitar Paul”. Paulinho released an average of one album per calendar year by the 1970s, which was the most prolific period of his career. Paulinho was already a well-known figure in Brazilian samba, choro, and mpb circles. He also expanded his audience through touring Brazil and playing at festivals in Europe as well as the USA. In the mid-80s his productivity and popularity began to decline. He decided to concentrate more on songwriting. In 1996 he regained notoriety after releasing the much-acclaimed album [album aritst=Paulinho da Viola]Bebadosamba[/album], in which he once again joined forces with Herminio Bello de Carvalho and Elton Medeiros, his early songwriting partners. He lives in Rio de Janeiro, and still performs throughout Brazil. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
