Caetano Veloso

Bahia

Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso was born in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, on 7 August 1942, the fifth of seven children of José Teles Velloso, a postal worker, and Claudionor Viana Teles Velloso, known as Dona Canô. His younger sister is the singer Maria Bethânia. From 1960 to 1962 he wrote film criticism for the Diário de Notícias, and in 1963 he entered the philosophy faculty of the Universidade Federal da Bahia. He names João Gilberto as his master above all others, and Amália Rodrigues and Cole Porter among his influences.

In June 1964 he directed and sang in Nós, por exemplo at the Teatro Vila Velha in Salvador, alongside Gilberto Gil, Bethânia, Gal Costa and Tom Zé. In 1965 he moved to Rio de Janeiro with Bethânia and released his first single on RCA. Television song festivals followed: in October 1966 he won the prize for best lyrics with Um dia.

Tropicália

His first LP, Domingo, shared with Gal Costa, came out on Philips in 1967 and leaned on bossa nova. That October he sang Alegria, Alegria at the TV Record festival with the Argentine rock group the Beat Boys behind him and placed fourth. His first solo album, Caetano Veloso (1968), turned to rock and psychedelia and opened with Tropicália. The press took the song's title as the name for the whole movement, which he disliked. The same year he joined Gil, Gal Costa, Os Mutantes, Tom Zé and others on the collective manifesto Tropicália ou Panis et Circencis.

In September 1968 he was booed while singing É proibido proibir at the TV Globo festival, was disqualified, and answered the audience and jury with a combative speech. He was also barred from a samba competition for playing electric guitar.

Prison and London

On 27 December 1968, fourteen days after the AI-5 decree, he and Gil were arrested in São Paulo, accused of disrespecting the national anthem and flag, and held in barracks in Rio. He was released on 19 February 1969 and confined to Salvador. After farewell concerts with Gil at the Teatro Castro Alves that July, later issued as Barra 69, he went into exile in London. He has said that London felt dark, and that he felt far away from himself there. He recorded an album there in 1971 and then Transa, released when he came home for good in January 1972. The 2020 documentary Narciso em Férias revisits his 54 days in prison.

Bicho and after

Through the 1970s he made Araçá Azul, Jóia and Qualquer Coisa, and in 1976 toured as one of the Doces Bárbaros with Gal Costa, Gil and Bethânia. Early in 1977 he spent a month with Gil in Lagos at FESTAC '77 and came back to make Bicho, with Tigresa on its second side. Parts of the left dismissed the record as an invitation to alienation. In 1978 he took it on stage with Banda Black Rio as the Bicho Baile Show.

Outras Palavras (1981) was his first gold record. Estrangeiro (1989) was made with Arto Lindsay, Tropicália 2 (1993) with Gil marked the movement's 25th anniversary, and Fina Estampa (1994) was sung in Spanish. In 1997 he published the memoir Verdade Tropical, translated as Tropical Truth, and released Livro, which won a Grammy. A Foreign Sound (2004), his first album entirely in English, came with a Carnegie Hall concert. Cê (2006), Zii e Zie (2009) and Abraçaço (2012) were made with Banda Cê, and in 2012 the Latin Recording Academy named him Person of the Year.

Later years

He sang at the opening of the 2016 Rio Olympics and with Salvador Sobral at the 2018 Eurovision final in Lisbon, and released the live album Ofertório with his sons Moreno, Zeca and Tom. Meu Coco followed in 2021. At a 2022 show marking his 80th birthday he spoke about his bisexuality. In August 2024 he and Bethânia opened their first shared tour in 46 years, and the live album from it won the Grammy for Best Global Music Album in February 2026, his third. Rolling Stone placed him 108th among the greatest singers of all time in 2023, and his recordings have been used in films including Talk to Her, Frida and Moonlight. He is still touring, with the show Caetano nos Festivais.