Biography
Jorge Ben Jor is a Brazilian popular musician, born in Rio de Janeiro on March 22, 1942 (some sources say 1940). His characteristic style fuses samba, funk, and rock into samba-rock, with lyrics that blend humor and satire with often esoteric subject matter.
The hybrid rhythms that Jorge employed brought him some problems at the start of his career, when Brazilian music was split between the rockier sounds of the Jovem Guarda and traditional samba with its complex lyrics. But as that phase in Brazilian pop music history passed, and the entire world became captivated by bossa nova, Jorge rose to prominence.
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In the 1970s, Jorge Ben released his most esoteric and experimental albums, most notably "A Tábua de Esmeralda" in 1974, "Solta o Pavão" in 1975 and "África Brasil" in 1976; the latter album's track "Xica da Silva" receiving a single release in many territories in Europe but retitled as "Chica da Silva" for ease of pronunciation. These three albums were not greeted with much popular success at the time but are regarded as classics today.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.