THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,876) Os Selvagens/The Savages — “Coração de Pedra”/”Heart of Stone”
No, this is not the Stones’ “Heart of Stone”! It is the Brazilian group Os Selvagens’ (the Savages) propulsive ’70 rocker. The band featured a young Michael Sullivan, sorry, Ivanilton de Souza Lima, who would later become one of the biggest Brazilian stars ever.
Hedson tells us (courtesy of Google Translate):
In the wake of the Jovem Guarda* [Young Guard] movement, many bands emerged meteorically but failed to establish themselves in the musical context of the time. One of these groups was Os Selvagens, which emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1960s, in the post-Jovem Guarda era, on the CBS record label, under the artistic production of Rossini Pinto. Probably, if they had emerged a few years earlier, they would certainly have been more successful and had more market opportunities. Another fact that was mentioned in publications at the time was the record company’s lack of effort in promoting the group, since the music market was already in a new wave, Tropicália**. The initial proposal of the band Os Selvagens aimed to create a fusion of Pop and Soul styles, which did not happen in practice, remaining within the Jovem Guarda pop style of the time.
https://laplayamusic.blogspot.com/2012/08/os-selvagens-1970.html
Grokipedia adds:
Michael Sullivan, born Ivanilton de Souza Lima . . . in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, is a renowned Brazilian singer, guitarist, composer, and music producer, celebrated for his prolific songwriting career spanning over five decades. Sullivan’s early career in the mid-1960s involved performing as a guitarist and singer in rock-dance bands such as Os Selvagens and later Renato e Seus Blue Caps [see #1,011, 1,815] before launching his solo career in 1976 . . . . At age 19, around 1969, Sullivan joined Os Selvagens as a singer and guitarist, further immersing himself in Rio’s vibrant music community during the tail end of the 1960s. . . . [T]he group operated in the Jovem Guarda movement, focusing on rock and roll covers with energetic live performances at local venues. . . . Sullivan’s early years were immersed in the local music scenes of Pernambuco, known for traditional rhythms such as frevo and maracatu, which provided a foundational exposure to Brazilian musical heritage amid the challenges of his upbringing . . . . [He] began his professional music career in the mid-1960s, debuting around 1964–1965 at age 14 as a singer in Recife’s nightlife venues. At age 15 in 1965, he participated in talent contests such as Varieté on Rádio Jornal do Commercio, winning first place and earning a professional musician’s card . . . along with a contract with TV Jornal do Commercio. This led to appearances on programs like Você Faz o Show, Noite de Black Tie, and Bossa 2, marking him as a rising talent from Pernambuco. In 1967 . . . [he] moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he adopted the stage name Michael Sullivan, inspired by a name from a telephone directory, reflecting the era’s interest in Anglo-American musical influences. He began performing in live settings focused on dance-oriented rock music popular among youth audiences. . . . Sullivan is recognized as one of the most prolific songwriters in Brazilian music history, with over 1,800 recorded songs to his credit, many emphasizing romantic ballads that delve into the emotional intricacies of love, betrayal, and redemption, alongside social commentary on relationships within patriarchal structures and inspirational anthems promoting hope and unity. . . .
https://grokipedia.com/page/michael_sullivan_singer_songwriter
As to his later career, Grokipedia tells us:
launching his solo career in 1976 with the English-language single “My Life,” which served as the theme for the Globo TV novela O Casarão. His breakthrough came through a 16-year partnership with lyricist Paulo Massadas from 1978 to 1994, during which they co-created hundreds of hits . . . . These compositions, often blending melody composition by Sullivan with Massadas’s lyrics, were recorded by major Brazilian artists . . . contributing significantly to the MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) and pop genres. . . . In the late 1970s and 1980s, Sullivan also performed with groups like The Fevers and released solo albums such as Sou Brasileiro (1978) and Michael Sullivan (1979), initially favoring English-sung repertoire akin to Morris Albert. After a hiatus in the 1990s, during which he relocated to Miami to produce international acts including Ricky Martin and Menudo for Sony Latina, he returned to music in 2003 with the collaborative album Duetos. . . . Over his career, Sullivan has penned more than 1,000 compositions, with around 500 becoming major hits, many serving as themes for TV novelas and children’s programs like Trem da Alegria. . . . His production work has resulted in over 60 million disks sold worldwide, earning 600 gold, 240 platinum, and 60 diamond certifications across Brazil and Latin America.
https://grokipedia.com/page/michael_sullivan_singer_songwriter
Grokipedia’s biography of Sullivan is much more expansive, for those who are interested: https://grokipedia.com/page/michael_sullivan_singer_songwriter.
* Wikipedia says:
Jovem Guarda was primarily a Brazilian musical television show first aired . . . in 1965, although the term soon expanded to designate the entire movement and style surrounding it. The members of the program were singers who had been influenced by the American rock n’ roll of the late 1950s and British Invasion bands of the 1960s, although the music often became softer, more naïve versions with light, romantic lyrics aimed at teenagers.
* * Wikipedia says:
Tropicália . . . was a Brazilian art movement that arose in the late 1960s. It was characterized by the amalgamation of Brazilian genres—notably the union of the popular and the avant-garde, as well as the melding of Brazilian tradition and foreign traditions and styles. Contemporarily, tropicália became primarily associated with the musical faction of the movement, which merged Brazilian and African rhythms with British and American psychedelia and rock . . . . The movement was begun by a group of musicians from Bahia . . . . Later the group moved to São Paulo . . . . [T]he 1968 album Tropicália ou Panis et Circencis [Latin for “Bread and Circuses”] . . . served as the movement’s manifesto. . . . The tropicália movement came to fruition at a time when Brazil’s military dictatorship and left-wing ideas held distinct but prominent amounts of power simultaneously. The tropicalists’ rejection of both sides’ version of nationalism (the military’s conservative patriotism and the ineffectual bourgeois anti-imperialism) was met with criticism and harassment.
Here are Os Jovens:
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