Wilson Simonal
- Origin
- Rio de Janeiro, RJ
- Genres
- MPB, samba soul, pilantragem, bossa nova, jazz
- Instruments
- voice
Biography
Wilson Simonal de Castro was one of the greatest phenomena of popularity in Brazilian music between the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he began his career as a crooner in nightclubs and quickly rose to stardom with an impeccable vocal technique and a stage presence that allowed him to conduct crowds. He was the main exponent of 'Pilantragem', a movement that fused bossa nova, soul, jazz, and samba in a communicative and popular way. Alongside Som Três, led by César Camargo Mariano, Simonal landed anthological hits such as 'País Tropical' (by Jorge Ben), 'Sá Marina', and 'Nem Vem Que Não Tem', even hosting prominent shows on TV Record and signing millionaire advertising contracts.
However, his career suffered a catastrophic setback in 1971 when he became involved in a police episode with his former accountant, Raphael Viviani. Accused of using agents from the DOPS to kidnap and torture the employee under suspicion of embezzlement, Simonal was prosecuted and labeled by public opinion and the artistic community as a collaborator of the military dictatorship. The document in which he claimed to be an informant for the regime led him into almost total ostracism. Despite attempts at a comeback and releasing albums praised by musicians such as Ed Motta, he spent the following decades as a pariah in MPB, facing alcoholism and struggling to prove that he had not been a political informant.
Simonal passed away in 2000, a victim of liver cirrhosis. In subsequent years, his work underwent an intense process of historical and moral reappraisal, culminating in documentaries and biographies that seek to reclaim his importance as Brazil's first Black superstar. He left an immense musical legacy, continued by his sons Wilson Simoninha and Max de Castro, and remains one of the most complex and talented figures in our popular culture.