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The Most Famous

MUSICIANS from Brazil

This page contains a list of the greatest Brazilian Musicians. The pantheon dataset contains 2,662 Musicians, 32 of which were born in Brazil. This makes Brazil the birth place of the 14th most number of Musicians behind Australia and Ukraine.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Brazilian Musicians of all time. This list of famous Brazilian Musicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Brazilian Musicians.

1. Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927 - 1994)

With an HPI of 67.39, Antônio Carlos Jobim is the most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages on wikipedia.

Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (Portuguese pronunciation: [tõ ʒoˈbĩ] ), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian music, Jobim internationalized bossa nova and, with the help of important American artists, merged it with jazz in the 1960s to create a new sound, with popular success. As a result, he is sometimes known as the "father of bossa nova". Jobim was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists internationally since the early 1960s. In 1965, the album Getz/Gilberto was the first jazz record to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It also won Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Individual or Group and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. The album's single "Garota de Ipanema (The Girl from Ipanema)", composed by Jobim, has become one of the most recorded songs of all time, and the album won the Record of the Year. Jobim composed many songs that are now included in jazz and pop standard repertoires. "Garota de Ipanema" has been recorded over 240 times by other artists. His 1967 album with Frank Sinatra, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, was nominated for Album of the Year in 1968.

2. João Gilberto (1931 - 2019)

With an HPI of 65.68, João Gilberto is the 2nd most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 46 different languages.

João Gilberto (born João Gilberto do Prado Pereira de Oliveira – Portuguese: [ʒuˈɐ̃w ʒiwˈbɛʁtu]; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer, and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was often called the "father of bossa nova"; in his native Brazil, he was referred to as "O Mito" ("The Legend"). In 1965, the album Getz/Gilberto was the first jazz record to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It also won Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Individual or Group and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Nominated at the Grammy 1978 in the category Best Jazz Vocal Performance, album Amoroso, and winner category in Grammy 2001 with João voz e violão Best World Music Album.

3. Caetano Veloso (1942 - )

With an HPI of 62.35, Caetano Veloso is the 3rd most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (Portuguese pronunciation: [kajˈtɐ̃nu emɐnuˈɛw viˈɐ̃nɐ ˈtɛliz veˈlozu]; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s, at the beginning of the Brazilian military dictatorship that took power in 1964. He has remained a constant creative influence and best-selling performing artist and composer ever since. Veloso has won nine Latin Grammy Awards and two Grammy Awards. On 14 November, 2012, Veloso was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year. Veloso was one of seven children born into the family of José Telles Veloso (commonly known as Seu Zeca), a government official, and Claudionor Viana Telles Veloso (known as Dona Canô). He was born in the city of Santo Amaro da Purificação, in Bahia, a state in the eastern area of Brazil, but moved to Salvador, the state capital, as a college student in the mid-1960s. Soon after that, Veloso won a music contest and was signed to his first label. He became one of the founders of Tropicalismo with a group of several other musicians and artists—including his sister Maria Bethânia—in the same period. However, the Brazilian military dictatorship viewed Veloso's music and political action as threatening, and he was arrested, along with fellow musician Gilberto Gil, in 1969. The two eventually were exiled from Brazil and went to London where they lived for two years. In 1972, Veloso moved back to his home country and once again began recording and performing. He later became popular outside Brazil in the 1980s and 1990s.

4. Gilberto Gil (1942 - )

With an HPI of 62.12, Gilberto Gil is the 4th most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒiwˈbɛʁtu ˈʒiw]; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Gil's musical style incorporates an eclectic range of influences, including rock, Brazilian genres including samba, African music, and reggae. Gil started to play music as a child and was a teenager when he joined his first band. He began his career as a bossa nova musician and grew to write songs that reflected a focus on political awareness and social activism. He was a key figure in the Música popular brasileira and tropicália movements of the 1960s, alongside artists such as longtime collaborator Caetano Veloso. The Brazilian military regime that took power in 1964 saw both Gil and Veloso as a threat, and the two were held for nine months in 1969 before they were told to leave the country. Gil moved to London, but returned to Bahia in 1972 and continued his musical career, while also working as a politician and environmental advocate.

5. Nelson Freire (1944 - 2021)

With an HPI of 60.90, Nelson Freire is the 5th most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Nelson José Pinto Freire (Portuguese: [ˈnɛwsõ ˈfɾejɾ(i)]; 18 October 1944 – 1 November 2021) was a Brazilian classical pianist. Regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his generation, he was noted for his "decorous piano playing" and "interpretive depth". His extensive discography for labels such as Sony Classical, Teldec, Philips, and Decca has garnered awards including the Gramophone Award and Diapason d'Or. Freire appeared as soloist with the world's most prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He played and recorded piano duo music with Martha Argerich, a long-time musical and personal friend.

6. Chico Buarque (1944 - )

With an HPI of 58.38, Chico Buarque is the 6th most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, and cultural reflections on Brazil. The firstborn son of Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Buarque lived at several locations throughout his childhood, though mostly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rome. He wrote and studied literature as a child and found music through the bossa nova compositions of Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. He performed as a singer and guitarist in the 1960s as well as writing a play that was deemed dangerous by the Brazilian military dictatorship of the time. Buarque, along with several Tropicalist and MPB musicians, was threatened by the Brazilian military government and eventually left Brazil for Italy in 1969. However, he came back to Brazil in 1970, and continued to record, perform, and write, though much of his material was suppressed by government censors. He released several more albums in the 1980s and published three novels in the 1990s and 2000s. In 2019, Buarque was awarded the Camões Prize, the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language. However, awarding of the prize was delayed by four years due to actions by Jair Bolsonaro, but Buarque received it in April 2023.

7. Sérgio Mendes (1941 - )

With an HPI of 56.42, Sérgio Mendes is the 7th most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Sérgio Santos Mendes (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈsɛʁʒju ˈsɐ̃tuz ˈmẽdʒis]; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil '66. He has over 55 releases and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes, a Brazilian musician, is primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has collaborated with many artists through the years, including the Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada".

8. Milton Nascimento (1942 - )

With an HPI of 55.24, Milton Nascimento is the 8th most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Milton Silva Campos do Nascimento (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmiwtõ ˈsiwvɐ ˈkɐ̃pus du nasiˈmẽtu]; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his album Nascimento in 1998.

9. Baden Powell (1937 - 2000)

With an HPI of 54.15, Baden Powell is the 9th most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Baden Powell de Aquino (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈbadẽ ˈpawew]; 6 August 1937 – 26 September 2000), known professionally as Baden Powell, was a Brazilian guitarist. He combined classical techniques with popular harmony and swing. He performed in many styles, including bossa nova, samba, Brazilian jazz, Latin jazz and MPB. He performed on stage during most of his lifetime. Powell composed many pieces for guitar, such as Abração em Madrid, Braziliense, Canto de Ossanha, Casa Velha, Consolação, Horizon, Imagem, Lotus, Samba, Samba Triste, Simplesmente, Tristeza e Solidão, and Samba da Benção. He released Os Afro-sambas, a watershed album in MPB, with Vinicius de Moraes in 1966.

10. Toquinho (1946 - )

With an HPI of 54.02, Toquinho is the 10th most famous Brazilian Musician. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Antônio Pecci Filho (born July 6, 1946), better known as Toquinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [toˈkĩɲu]), is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. He is well known for his collaborations, as composer and performer, with Vinicius de Moraes.

People

Pantheon has 32 people classified as musicians born between 1880 and 1993. Of these 32, 22 (68.75%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living musicians include Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Chico Buarque. The most famous deceased musicians include Antônio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, and Nelson Freire. As of April 2022, 1 new musicians have been added to Pantheon including Alok.