Biography
Marco Paulo (Mourão, Portugal, January 21, 1945 – Sintra, Portugal, October 24, 2024)—the stage name of João Simão da Silva—was a Portuguese romantic singer whose career spanned 58 years, largely consisting of Portuguese-language versions of international hits. He was essentially the king of Schlager music in Portugal (although his music was not classified as *Pimba*). With sales exceeding 5 million copies in Portugal, he was one of the best-selling musical artists in the country's history.
Marco Paulo was one of Portugal's most popular singers in the period following the Carnation Revolution, particularly from the late 1970s through the 1980s and 1990s. He was born in Mourão, in the rural Alentejo region (in the south of the country), but his family moved to Barreiro, near Lisbon, where he began singing at weddings and festivals. Later, he joined the army and spent two years serving in the Portuguese Colonial War. Upon his return to Portugal, a friend, Mário Martins, introduced him to the song "Eu Tenho Dois Amores." Initially, he was not very keen on the song, but it went on to become one of his greatest hits of all time.
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He also hosted television programs during the 1990s and 2020s.
In 2007, he released his first album consisting entirely of previously unreleased songs. The arrangements and production were handled by Ramón Gallarza.
Marco Paulo died on October 24th, 2024, after a long battle with cancer. He was 79 years old.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.