Pedro Caetano

Origin

Bananal, SP

Years active

1934–1984

Genres

samba, marcha, valsa, choro, mpb

Instruments

piano

Biography

Pedro Walde Caetano was born in Bananal, São Paulo, on February 1, 1911, moving to Rio de Janeiro in his childhood, where he began his piano studies. Although he built a career as a shoe merchant rather than living exclusively from music, he became one of the most prolific composers of the Radio Era, accumulating more than 400 compositions among marches, sambas, waltzes, and choros.

Throughout his artistic journey, he collaborated with great names in Brazilian music such as Pixinguinha, Noel Rosa, and Wilson Batista, having Claudionor Cruz as his most constant partner. His works were interpreted by exponents of MPB and traditional samba, such as Orlando Silva, Francisco Alves, Ciro Monteiro, Aracy de Almeida, and Elis Regina, who revisited great classics from his repertoire.

Pedro Caetano passed away in Rio de Janeiro on July 27, 1992, leaving an inestimable legacy for Brazilian popular culture, marked by memorable hits like "É com esse que eu vou" and "Sandália de prata". In life, in addition to his extensive work recorded by the leading artists of his time, he published the book "Meio Século de Música Popular Brasileira — O que Fiz" and immortalized his memory in biographical records for television.