Carlos do Carmo

biography Carlos do Carmo was one of the most recognized Portuguese fado singers and performers, who popularized Lisbon's traditional musical genre to a global audience. Born on December 21, 1939, in Lisbon, he was the son of fado singer Lucília do Carmo and Alfredo de Almeida, book dealer and owner of the fado house O Faia. He grew up in an artistic environment and had contact with fado since he was a child, listening to his mother and other famous fado singers such as Alfredo Marceneiro, Maria Teresa de Noronha and Carlos Ramos. At the age of 15, he left for Switzerland, where he studied languages ​​and hotel management. He returned to Portugal in 1962, after his father's death, to help his mother manage O Faia. It was there that he began singing for friends and clients, until in 1964 he definitively embraced an artistic career. He recorded his first album that year, a version of the fado Loucura, which had been performed by his mother. Other albums and performances followed in Portugal and abroad, which earned him recognition from critics and the public. Carlos do Carmo introduced new styles and influences to fado, such as orchestration, jazz, Portuguese popular music and contemporary poetry. He collaborated with several composers and poets, such as José Carlos Ary dos Santos, Fernando Tordo, Paulo de Carvalho, António Victorino de Almeida, José Luís Tinoco and Bernardo Sassetti. He was also one of the main opponents of the dictatorial regime of the Estado Novo and a defender of democracy after the Carnation Revolution, in 1974. In 1976, he represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Uma Flor de Verde Pinho, placing 12th. That same year, he received the Press Award as best national singer. Throughout his career, he received several other awards and distinctions, such as the Goya Award for best original song in 2008 (for the theme Fado da Saudade, from the film Fados, by Carlos Saura), the Medal of Cultural Merit in 1997, the Amália Rodrigues Award in 2005 and the Latin Career Grammy in 2014. Carlos do Carmo performed on the most prestigious stages in the world, such as the Royal Albert Hall in London, Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York or Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon. His deep and expressive voice became a reference in fado and influenced several generations of fado singers. Among his best-known themes are O Cacilheiro, Os Putos, Lisboa Menina e Moça, Canoas do Tejo, Por Morrer uma Andorinha or Estrela da Tarde. Carlos do Carmo died in Lisbon, on January 1, 2021, at the age of 81, victim of an aneurysm. He left an invaluable legacy for Portuguese culture and fado, which he considered "the song of life".