Rita Lee singer and queen of Brazilian rock, died at the age of 75, in São Paulo, on Monday night (8).
The artist was born on December 31, 1947, in São Paulo, the daughter of dentist Charles Fenley Jones, a descendant of North American immigrants, and pianist Romilda Padula Jones, daughter of Italian immigrants.
The artist had two sisters, Virginia and Mary Lee, and had three children, Beto, João and Antônio, a granddaughter, Izabella, and a grandson, Arthur.
Rita Lee learned to play drums at age 15 and, at 16, joined a female vocal trio, the “Teenage Singers”, participating in concerts and parties at schools.
She formed several musical groups, including the “Six Sided Rockers” and “O Konjunto” – which would later become “Os Bruxos” –, the latter alongside brothers Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias.
In the 1960s, the trio Rita, Arnaldo and Sérgio became the band “Os Mutantes”, releasing five albums: Os Mutantes (1968), Mutantes (1969), A Divina Comédia ou Ando Meio Offline (1970), Jardim Elétrico ( 1971), Mutants and Their Comets in Bauretz Country (1972).
The first solo album released by Rita Lee was Build Up, from 1970, when she was still with Mutantes. They performed together until 1972, when the singer decided to launch her solo career with the album “Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life”.
Two years later, she released “Atrás do Porto Tem uma Cidade” and, in 1975, “Fruto Proibido”, which sold around 700,000 copies. In 1976, the album “Refestança” was successful with the song “Ovelha Negra”, which occupied the first position in the charts of the country.
Also in 1974, Rita Lee joined the band “Tutti Frutti”, which had four more albums.
From 1979, she produced her records in partnership with her husband, Roberto de Carvalho, including Rita Lee and Saúde. In 1995, she opened on tour for the British band the Rolling Stones.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the artist released Aqui, Ali, em Lugar (Bossa´n´Beatles) and Balacobaco, in 2001 and 2003, respectively.
Farewell to the stage took place in 2012. Since then, appearances by the queen of rock have become rare.
(Published by Lucas Rocha, with information from Tiago Tortella and Lucas Schroeder)
Source: CNN Brasil
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