1973 Brazilian Hit Parade

When I arrived back to São Paulo from the United States, in early April 1973, I was in for a great cultural shock. I had brought a Panasonic cassette tape-recorder cum radio which had been my pride and joy since I bought it in early October 1972, when Nino was still living in Queens, N.Y. and I occupying a room by myself at Henriqueta's house on Columbia Street in Newark, N.J. 

The greatest shock I had was when I started tuning São Paulo radio stations and realized how poor and backward they were after I had been exposed to New York City radio for almost two years. DJs were morons, the sound of the records were terrible... commercials were dreadful... FM radio was still in its infancy in 1973... so I had to rely on AM radio with its poorer sound. 

After a few weeks I resigned to my lot but I longed to be back in the States so much. I was happy to be back among my family... but the relish of life was gone. My consolation was to listen to the dozen cassette tapes I had recorded from New York radio over and over again until I knew most of them by heart... songs and commercials alike.

Little by little I started 'accepting' what I heard on São Paulo radiio. Here's a list of most popular songs as April turned into June and July... I made it up from memory with the help of music magazines and newspapers. I think the very first hit I recognized as such was Raul Seixa's 'Ouro de tolo' which was something utterly different from everything Brazilians had done until then. It is obviously inspired by Bob Dylan's way of delivering a song. It was written and sung in Portuguese which is even more prodigious. 

J U N E  9,  1973

1.  Tell me once again  -  Light Reflection (TV Globo's 'Uma rosa com amor')
2.  Folhas secas  -  Elis Regina
3.  You're a lady  -  Peter Skellerns
4.  Ponto de encontro  -  Celia
5.  Push together  -  Chakachas

6.   A Rosa  -  Moacyr Franco (TV Globo's 'Uma rosa com amor')
7.  So lucky - Freddie Davis (TV Tupi's 'Vitoria Bonelli') 
8.  La prima compagnia - Sergio Endrigo (TV Tupi's 'Vitoria Bonelli') 

9.  My mistake - Pholhas 
10. Partido alto - MPB4

J U LY  7,  1973

1.  Ouro de tolo  -  Raul Seixas
2.  Maracatú atômico - Gilberto Gil
3.  Cala a boca, Barbara - Chico Buarque
4.  My love  -  Paul McCartney
5.  Don't say goodbye - Chrystian (TV Globo's 'Cavalo de aço' 24 Jan 1973 to 21 Aug 1973)

6.  Pillow talk - Sylvia
7.  Yesterday once more - Carpenters
8.  Kodakchrome - Paul Simon
9.  Domingo feliz (Beautiful Sunday) - Angelo Maximo

10. Preta pretinha - Novos Bahianos 

AUGUST  18,  1973

1.  Sangue latino  -  Secos & Molhados
2.  O vira  -  Secos & Molhados
3.  Skyline pigeon  -  Elton John
4.  Your song  -  Billy Paul
5.  Music and me  -  Michael Jackson (Tapecar)

6.  O menino da gaita  -  Sergio Reis
7.  Naquela mesa  -  Elizeth Cardoso & Sergio Bittencourt
8.  O malhão  -  Roberto Leal
9.  I will be fine  -  Pete Dunaway (TV Tupi's 'Rosa dos Ventos' 16 July '73 to 17 Nov '73)
10. Daniel  -  Elton John

SEPTEMBER  15,  1973

1.  She made me cry  -  Pholhas
2.  For once in my life  -  Gladys Knight & the Pips
3.  Give me love (Peace on earth)  -  George Harrison
4.  Como vai você? - Roberto Carlos 

5.  No more Mr. Nice Guy  -  Alice Cooper

6.  Desafio  -  Luiz Américo
7.  Te amo eternamente (While we're still young) -  Celso Ricardi ('Mulheres de areia')
8.  Feijãozinho com torresmo  -  Maria Creusa
9.  Amor, amor, amor  -  Marcos Roberto 
10. Vou tomá um pingão  -  Tião Carreiro & Pardinho

OCTOBER  27,  1973

1.  Clouds  -  David Gates
2.  Gaye  -  Clifford T. Ward
3.  Porta aberta  -  Luiz Ayrão
4.  Quero ser sua  -  Rosemary

5.  Do you love me? - Shariff Dean & Eveline D'Haese (Epic)

6.  Eu vou rifar meu coração  -  Lindomar Castilho
7.  Let me try again  -  Frank Sinatra
8.  Lady grinning soul  - David Bowie

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NOVEMBER  10,  1973

1.  Só quero um xodó  -  Gilberto Gil
2.  Eu bebo sim  -  Elizeth Cardoso 
3.  Férias na praia  -  Sueli
4.  All in love is fair  -  Stevie Wonder
5.  Felicidade  -  Nilton Cesar

6.  The morning after  -  Maureen McGovern
7.  Eu bebo sim - Elizeth Cardoso 
8.  Cachaça mecânica - Erasmo Carlos (Polydor) 
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DECEMBER  15,  1973

1.  O homem de Nazaré  -  Antonio Marcos
2.  Gaye  -  Clifford T. Ward 
3.  Retalhos de cetim  -  Benito de Paula
4.  Angie  -  Rolling Stones
5.  De que vale ter tudo na vida?  -  José Augusto

6. Love me or leave me alone - Dennis Yost & Classics IV  ('Semideus' 20 Aug 1973 to 7 May 1974)  
7. Minha namorada - Wanderley Cardoso 
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