Gilberto Gil’s presence in soap opera plots
Since the 1970s, the singer and songwriter has had several of his compositions or recordings featured on Brazilian dramaturgy soundtracks.
By Instituto Gilberto Gil
Text: Ricardo Schott, journalist and music researcher
Gilberto Gil no palco do Teatro Bradesco (2009-09-28)Instituto Gilberto Gil
“Having your song featured on a soap opera makes it popular, broadens the audience in a way. You get access to an audience which, at first, wouldn’t have your attention.”
Gilberto Gil
There has been a crucial change in soap opera soundtracks from 1975 on. This turnaround happened precisely in a soundtrack of which Gilberto Gil was a part. On that year, producer Guto Graça Mello faced a huge rush to create a soundtrack in record time for Pecado Capital, a soap opera by Janete Clair, which was to debut on Rede Globo. He went to from door to door of record labels what they were releasing, opted for a selection of popular songs, got an unreleased one by Paulinho da Viola for the opening and, thanks to that, was able to get a lot of new songs from the plot on the radio. The record for Pecado Capital sold about 200,000 copies and, from that point on, soap opera soundtracks were seen as an especially interesting business in launching new artists and making songs a hit.
Gilberto Gil em show da turnê Realce (Agosto de 1979)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil ended up being part of the Pecado Capital soundtrack, though his name wasn’t on the back cover of the album that featured the soap opera’s songs. But “Que besteira,” theme song for the Lutero Luiz’s character Marciano, was on it.
João Donato e Gilberto Gil se apresentam juntos no Rio de Janeiro (Abril de 1996)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The song was a partnership by Gil and João Donato, which the composer from Acre had recorded in his album of the same name, launched that year. It was already being performed by Gil in some concerts.
This happened during a productive year for the Bahia-born, regarding soap opera songs—in the soundtrack for Cuca Legal, another Globo soap from 1975, there were two songs by Gil, recorded by Chico Batera.
One of them was the instrumental opening theme, “Cuca legal (Ha Ha Ha).” The other one was “Tiu ru ru,” a partnership with British Cat Stevens, from the time Cat was in Brazil and met his Brazilian colleagues in person.
Capa do álbum Refazenda, de Gilberto Gil (1975)Instituto Gilberto Gil
In the following year, “Jeca total,” one of the most inspired tracks from Gil’s 1975 record Refazenda, was in the soundtrack for Saramandaia, also produced by Guto Graça Mello.
Caderno com anotações, dedicatórias e composições de Gilberto Gil Rascunho da música Jeca Tatu, de Gilbero GilInstituto Gilberto Gil
Still in 1976, Gil got a request from Dori Caymmi: to compose a song for the Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo soundtrack. The series, inspired by Monteiro Lobato’s work, was to be premiered by Globo the following year, and the idea was that each artist would create a song for a character.
Lado A do compacto de 1977 de Gilberto Gil, lançado pela gravadora Phillips (1977)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Gil suggested composing an overall theme. And he ended up writing his first TV theme to be a great time-proven hit: “Sítio do pica-pau amarelo,” released as a single and on the soundtrack record and was recorded many times by the composer.
Ensaio fotográfico de Gilberto Gil para o DVD Fé na Festa (2010-02-10)Instituto Gilberto Gil
“It was kind of a claimed composition, in that I asked Dori to let me make an overview for the whole Sítio, because Monteiro Lobato’s work is in my head and heart ever since I was a child. And so I did.”
Gilberto Gil
The 1970s would still see other theme songs by Gil in the little screen. “Babá Alapalá,” recorded by Zezé Motta, would be on O Pulo do Gato (1978).
The soap opera Os Gigantes (1979) would feature “Super homem – A canção.”
Capa do álbum Antologia do samba-choro, de Gilberto Gil e Germano Mathias (1978)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Gil was also featured on soaps from other channels throughout the decade: the soundtrack for Tempo de Viver (TV Tupi, 1972) had the hit “Expresso 2222.” The reinterpretation of the classic samba-choro “Acertei no milhar” ended up on the soundtrack for Roda de Fogo (TV Tupi, 1978).
Capa do álbum Realce, de Gilberto Gil (1979)Instituto Gilberto Gil
From there, Gil would see several theme songs in soap operas, as a singer or songwritier. “Realce”, his greatest hit from 1979, would be featured on the Água Viva soundtrack the following year. “Meu amigo, meu herói,” which he wrote and Zizi Possi recorded, would be one of the theme songs for Plumas e Paetês, from 1980.
Gilberto Gil, Marina Lima, Lulu Santos e CazuzaInstituto Gilberto Gil
Marina Lima would record his “Corações a mil,” featured on Baila Comigo (1981) soundtrack.
“Esotérico” was on Sétimo Sentido (1982). In 1983, it was time for “A linha e o linho” to be on Champagne soundtrack.
Capa do álbum Quilombo, de Gilberto Gil (1984 (produção) e 2002 (lançamento))Instituto Gilberto Gil
Cacá Diegues’s movie Quilombo theme song, “Zumbi, a felicidade guerreira” was on the soundtrack of Sinhá Moça (1986). And the decade ended with Gil in the opening of a prime-time soap opera for the first time, with “Amarra o teu arado a uma estrela,” on Salvador da Pátria, throughout 1989.
Gilberto Gil durante show da turnê do álbum QuantaInstituto Gilberto Gil
Mico Preto, a Globo soap from 1990, also featured Gil on the opening, but singing a song that wasn’t his—the theme was by Aldir Blanc and Moacir Luz.
Gilberto Gil e Stevie Wonder dividem o palco em Washington nos anos 80 (1985)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The decade also saw and heard Gilberto Gil singing a 1980s hit, “Só chamei porque te amo,” the Brazilian version of Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called To Say I Love You,”, on the História de Amor soundtrack (1995).
In A Indomada (1997), the hit “Estrela,”, from the album Quanta, played to the couple Teobaldo (José Mayer) and Helena (Adriana Esteves).
From other recente soundtracks, there are many highlights. Gil shared the opening theme “Minha princesa” with singer Roberta Sá in Cordel Encantado (2011).
And he released a new song in Joia Rara (2013), the opening theme of the same name. Other themes by Gil were also featured Sol nascente (2016, with the Italian song “Come Prima,” recorded live with Caetano Veloso) and Verão 90 (2018, with the same “Esotérico”, from Sétimo Sentido.
Lastly, he was featured in Os Dias Eram Assim (2017, with “Aquele abraço”) and Segundo Sol (“Afogamento,” a partnership with com Jorge Bastos Moreno recorded by him again Roberta Sá, for the 2018 soap). In the soundtrack of Amor de Mãe (2019) , the same Aquele Abraço appeared. Um Lugar ao Sol (2021) also featured the song Sol de Maria.These are some of Gil’s soundtracks that served as themes for unforgettable romances and scenes.
Exhibit credits
Research and text: Ricardo Schott
Editing: Chris Fuscaldo
Assembly: Patrícia Sá Rêgo
Copyediting: Laura Zandonadi
General credits
Editing and curating: Chris Fuscaldo / Garota FM
Musical content research: Ceci Alves, Chris Fuscaldo, and Ricardo Schott
MinC content research: Carla Peixoto, Ceci Alves, Chris Fuscaldo, and Laura Zandonadi
Photo subtitles: Anna Durão, Carla Peixoto, Ceci Alves, Chris Fuscaldo, Daniel Malafaia, Gilberto Porcidonio, Kamille Viola, Laura Zandonadi, Lucas Vieira, Luciana Azevedo, Patrícia Sá Rêgo, Pedro Felitte, Ricardo Schott, Roni Filgueiras, and Tito Guedes
Data editing: Isabela Marinho
Acknowledgments: Gege Produções, Gilberto Gil, Flora Gil, Gilda Mattoso, Fafá Giordano, Maria Gil, Meny Lopes, Nelci Frangipani, Cristina Doria, Daniella Bartolini, and all photographers and characters in the stories
All media: Instituto Gilberto Gil
