Gal Costa, legendary Brazilian singer, has died at age 77. He was a pioneer in the Latin pop genre, which he helped to create and bring to international prominence. The singer was also highly critical of the way that popular music is marketed to the world. “To sing is to love,” he once said. “Not the love of pop songs, but the love of my music, which was what I lived for.”
According to Billboard, the singer was found dead in his home at his house in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. The cause is uncertain.
Born in the small, poor city of Belo Horizonte, Costa made a name for himself as a singer when he was just 16 years old. His most famous hits in the U.S. included the cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends,” for which he was paid just $27.
In 1964, he released “Tequila Bar,” featuring the vocals of Oscar Brasil, and later that year, in 1965, “Eu Tô Pescador,” which would become an enormous international hit. (He never sang these hits at the Grammys, or even onstage, although they were nominated there for Record of the Year.)
The singer’s career continued to soar in the next decade as he toured the world. He opened for The Beatles and, in 1968, sang backing vocals on Sir Cliff Richard’s hit single “Latch by Your Latch.” (He reportedly did not learn a single note of the song, making a complete mockery of it.) During that period, the singer married another pop icon, actress and singer-songwriter Rita Hogue, with whom he had three children. In his autobiography, Costa said, “I have never been happy because it seems that there is no limit to what people will accept from me.”
In 1976, he co-wrote “Ups and Downs of Life” and sang the accompanying “You Are a Fool” with Hogue. “I think I’m a fool,” one of their songs goes, “I think I’m a fool, but I’ll be a fool for you. I’ll be a fool for you, if
