Ellen de Lima

Origin

Salvador, BA

Genres

samba-canção, bolero, slow-fox

Instruments

voz

Biography

Helenice Teresinha de Lima Pereira de Almeida, better known as Ellen de Lima, was born in Salvador, Bahia, on March 24, 1938, but moved to Rio de Janeiro when she was only two years old. She began her artistic journey in 1950 by participating in César de Alencar's newcomer show on Rádio Nacional, and later joined Rádio Mayrink Veiga, where she was hired in 1954 to perform in venues in cities like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

Throughout her career, she stood out as one of the first artists signed to the Columbia record label in Brazil, debuting in 1954 at the invitation of conductor Renato de Oliveira with the samba-canção "Até Você" and the slow-fox "Melancolia". In 1957, she achieved great notoriety by hitting the charts with the bolero "Vício", by Fernando César, which boosted the release of her first self-titled LP, "Ellen", with simultaneous airplay on several Rio radio stations.

In the 1960s, she definitively cemented her name in the history of national music by recording the famous "Canção das Misses", composed by Lourival Faissal to accompany the prestigious Miss Brazil pageant promoted by Diários Associados, a theme that remained a hallmark of her shows over the years. Her importance to Brazilian radio was also celebrated in the documentary Cantoras do Rádio, directed by Gil Baroni in 2009.