The first LP made in Brazil turns 50
Researcher Jairo Severiano shows AllBrazilianMusic the very first long-playing disc recorded in Brazil, with sambas for the Carnival of 1951
Rodrigo Faour
29/01/2001
The lovers of the old (and eternal) vinyl discs have got to celebrate this anniversary. Exactly 50 years ago, the long-playing - or LP - landed on Brazil, after a long period during which the fragile 78 rpm ruled. The new format was claimed to be long lasting and unbreakable. The LPs had appeared in the United States three years before, but according to the MPB researcher Jairo Severiano, Brazil was not way behind the rest of the world - it was the fourth country to adopt the new system, being preceeded only by the inventors, England and France. In January 1951, the label Capitol/Sinter released Carnaval em Long-Playing, the first Brazilian LP, featuring eight well-known artists - like Heleninha Costa, Geraldo Pereira, Os Cariocas and others - doing sambas and marchas made specially for that year's carnival.
"This first Brazilian LP was released on Capitol, which was represented in Brazil by the Sociedade Interamericana (Sinter), and it was put out as an attempt to establish a possibly emerging market rather than to gather consumers: almost nobody had a sound system to play the discs. And it didn't spread quickly; the second Brazilian album was made more than a year later" claims Jairo Severiano, referring to Parada de Sucessos (1952).
The researcher explains that the carnival repertoire was chosen because, at that time, that was the kind of music that appealed the most to the public. "In the 30s, 50% of the label's income would come from the music written for carnival; so, in this first LP, it was natural that the style would be approached", he explains.
Apathic audience
Even though the sound reproduced by the vinyl was a lot better than that of the 78 rpm, most of the public took ages to replace their old sound systems and albums. Jairo claims that the impact caused by the switch from 78 rpm to vinyl was softer and slower than the switch from LPs to CDs, which started in the late 80s. In fact, the local vinyl industry was barely emerging - Sinter took its time to release the second album and the third, too.
The researcher observes that the structure of the recording company was extremely underdeveloped and there was only a small amount of printed albums. Thus, it wasn't worth it to invest in machinery for so little production.
"When the Brazilian LP was invented, it didn't do much for the public, as opposed to what happened in 1972, when the color TV came out. I remember that the color TV was launched on the 31st of March and after a few weeks I went to get me one, and there were more buyers than TV sets. But that didn't happen at all with the LP. People kept listening to the radio and to their 78 rpm discs for a long while. The market for LPs was only established by the late 50s. By then, almost every recording company had already adopted the new format.", states Severiano.
"This first Brazilian LP was released on Capitol, which was represented in Brazil by the Sociedade Interamericana (Sinter), and it was put out as an attempt to establish a possibly emerging market rather than to gather consumers: almost nobody had a sound system to play the discs. And it didn't spread quickly; the second Brazilian album was made more than a year later" claims Jairo Severiano, referring to Parada de Sucessos (1952).
The researcher explains that the carnival repertoire was chosen because, at that time, that was the kind of music that appealed the most to the public. "In the 30s, 50% of the label's income would come from the music written for carnival; so, in this first LP, it was natural that the style would be approached", he explains.
Apathic audience
Even though the sound reproduced by the vinyl was a lot better than that of the 78 rpm, most of the public took ages to replace their old sound systems and albums. Jairo claims that the impact caused by the switch from 78 rpm to vinyl was softer and slower than the switch from LPs to CDs, which started in the late 80s. In fact, the local vinyl industry was barely emerging - Sinter took its time to release the second album and the third, too.
The researcher observes that the structure of the recording company was extremely underdeveloped and there was only a small amount of printed albums. Thus, it wasn't worth it to invest in machinery for so little production.
"When the Brazilian LP was invented, it didn't do much for the public, as opposed to what happened in 1972, when the color TV came out. I remember that the color TV was launched on the 31st of March and after a few weeks I went to get me one, and there were more buyers than TV sets. But that didn't happen at all with the LP. People kept listening to the radio and to their 78 rpm discs for a long while. The market for LPs was only established by the late 50s. By then, almost every recording company had already adopted the new format.", states Severiano.
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