Biography:

Sueli Correa Costa ( Rio de Janeiro , ^[ 1 ] July 25 , 1943 – Rio de Janeiro, March 3 , 2023 ) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter .

Born into a family of musicians, in which her mother played the piano and taught choral singing classes . It was in this environment that she taught herself to play the guitar as a teenager , alongside her brothers (Élcio, Lisieux, Telma and Afrânio) who also played music. In the best bossa nova style, she wrote her first composition, Balãozinho , at the age of 18 .

1960s

In the 1960s, she began working as a composer , while balancing her studies at the Faculty of Law in Juiz de Fora , where she was raised, until 1969 when she moved to Rio de Janeiro. During this period, in Juiz de Fora, Sueli Costa composed and sang all the songs for the play “Cancioneiro de Lampião”, staged by Grupo Divulgação in 1967. She also worked on the soundtrack for the play “Bodas de Sangue”, in the same year. ^[ 2 ] Years of uninterrupted activity as a composer, songs recorded by great performers such as Nara Leão , she participated in the soundtrack of children’s plays, and in festivals, in addition to having taught music classes in schools in Rio , formed a respectable curriculum.

1970s

The 1970s marked a great moment of talent recognition on the part of performers such as Ney Matogrosso , Simone , Cauby Peixoto , Pedro Mariano , Joanna , Fagner , Fafá de Belém , Alaíde Costa , Ângela Rô Rô , Elis Regina , Ivan Lins , Zélia Duncan , Zizi Possi , Agnaldo Rayol , Gal Costa , Wanderléa , Ithamara Koorax , among others. Sueli Costa ‘s name then became part of the elite of MPB composers . With success knocking on the door, she was hired by EMI and recorded her first LP (1975) with production by Gonzaguinha and arrangements by Paulo Moura and Wagner Tiso . Two years later, the second LP came, ( 1977 ), produced by João Bosco and Aldir Blanc . The most important partners to date are, in the beginning, Cacaso and Tite de Lemos ; then Aldir Blanc , Ana Terra , Paulo César Pinheiro and Abel Silva appeared , with whom she established a successful duo.

Death

Sueli died on March 4, 2023, aged 79. The cause of death was not disclosed. ^[ 3 ] She was buried in the São João Batista Cemetery , in Botafogo . ^[ 4 ]

Posthumous Tributes

In 2023, the Divulgação Group , of which he was part in the 60s, revives the show “Cancioneiro de Lampião” in his honor.

Credits: