Carmen Miranda

"The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat" was born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha in Marco de Canavezes, Portugal, February 9, 1909 to parents Jose Maria Pinto and Maria Miranda Emilia [da Cunha]. The family moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil a year later.

Carmen started in radio, singing carnival marchas and sambas. Carmen began recording with RCA Victor in 1929, and for the next decade remained one of Brasil's most popular singers (heard mainly on Radio Mayrink Veiga). Her younger sister Aurora also emerged as a singer in the 1930s but did not have the drive or stamina for stardom.

Her "bombshell" status came about as a result of both theatrical performances and cinematic releases, each inspiring also musical recording dates. Hollywood made her a star but ruined her reputation in Brasil. Many films of that period made no distinction among such diverse peoples as Argentines, Brasilians, and Mexicans.

Carmen had the same problem with her singing career as did Fred Astaire; no one watching the dance sequences tuned in their ears seriously. Of course she sang all sorts of silly Hollywood and Broadway show tunes. She also sang marchas, sambas, and rumbas dressed up as sambas. Sometimes, especially when far from the Hollywood machine, she recorded with Brasil's finest musicians Victor and Decca (Coral), presumably as well as for Brasilian labels. Her chief, best band of Brasilians was Aloysio de Oliveira and the Bando da Lua, which later made an excellent album for Capitol.

She died August 6, 1955 of a heart attack following a television-show rehearsal with Jimmy Durante. Brasil embraced her again posthumously, and eventually a Carmen Miranda museum was founded in Rio de Janeiro.

Carmen Miranda LPs, apart from soundtrack appearances, are compilations drawn from single releases (mainly 78s, although there were 45rpm EPs and singles). The Decca compilations offer all the popular hits from films, while Brasilian LPs tend to cover the years before she came to the U.S.