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Carmen Miranda

Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkaʁmẽj miˈɾɐ̃dɐ]), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films. As a young woman, she designed hats in a boutique before making her first recordings with composer Josué de Barros in 1929. Miranda's 1930 recording of "Taí (Pra Você Gostar de Mim)", written by Joubert de Carvalho, catapulted her to stardom in Brazil as the foremost interpreter of samba.

During the 1930s, Miranda performed on Brazilian radio and appeared in five Brazilian chanchadas, films celebrating Brazilian music, dance and the country's carnival culture. Hello, Hello Brazil! and Hello, Hello, Carnival! embodied the spirit of these early Miranda films. The 1939 musical Banana da Terra (directed by Ruy Costa) gave the world her "Baiana" image, inspired by Afro-Brazilians from the north-eastern state of Bahia.

In 1939, Broadway producer Lee Shubert offered Miranda an eight-week contract to perform in The Streets of Paris after seeing her at Cassino da Urca in Rio de Janeiro. The following year she made her first Hollywood film, Down Argentine Way with Don Ameche and Betty Grable and her exotic clothing and Lusophone accent became her trademark. That year, she was voted the third-most-popular personality in the United States; she and her group, Bando da Lua, were invited to sing and dance for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1943, Miranda starred in Busby Berkeley's The Gang's All Here, which featured musical numbers with the fruit hats that became her trademark. By 1945, she was the highest-paid woman in the United States.

Miranda made fourteen Hollywood films between 1940 and 1953. Although she was hailed as a talented performer, her popularity waned by the end of World War II. Miranda came to resent the stereotypical "Brazilian Bombshell" image she had cultivated and attempted to free herself of it with limited success. She focused on nightclub appearances and became a fixture on television variety shows. Despite being stereotyped, Miranda's performances popularized Brazilian music and increased public awareness of Latin culture. In 1941, she was the first Latin American star to be invited to leave her hand and footprints in the courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theatre and was the first South American honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Miranda is considered the precursor of Brazil's 1960s Tropicalismo cultural movement. A museum was built in Rio de Janeiro in her honor and she was the subject of the documentary Carmen Miranda: Bananas is My Business (1995).

Birth and Death Data: Born February 9, 1909 (Marco de Canaveses), Died August 5, 1955 (Beverly Hills)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, songwriter

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 76-100 of 180 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor 65639 10-in. 12/30/1932 Chegou a turma boa Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65640 10-in. 1/4/1933 Sossega o teu corpo sossega! Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65641 10-in. 1/4/1933 Olá!... Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65642 10-in. 1/5/1933 Moleque indigesto Lamartine Babo ; Carmen Miranda Female-male vocal duet vocalist  
Victor 65643 10-in. 1/5/1933 Quando você morrer Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65644 10-in. 1/6/1933 Pode ir embora Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65645 10-in. 1/6/1933 Foi você mesmo Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo, with mixed vocal trio vocalist  
Victor 65673 10-in. 6/5/1933 Tarde na serra Diabos do Céo ; Carmen Miranda ; Mário Reis Female-male vocal duet and mixed vocal chorus, with jazz/dance band vocalist  
Victor 65703 10-in. 4/10/1933 Moleque convencido Diabos do Céo ; Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band vocalist  
Victor 65704 10-in. 4/10/1933 Violão Diabos do Céo ; Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band vocalist  
Victor 65725 10-in. 5/2/1933 Não há razão para haver barulho Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65726 10-in. 5/2/1933 O despreso é minha arma Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65727 10-in. 5/2/1933 Tempo perdido Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65736 10-in. 5/18/1933 Só em saber Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65737 10-in. 5/18/1933 Elogio da raça Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65738 10-in. 5/18/1933 Prá quem sabe dar valor Carlos Galhardo ; Carmen Miranda Female-male vocal duet vocalist  
Victor 65766 10-in. 6/5/1933 Chegou a hora da fogueira Diabos do Céo ; Carmen Miranda ; Mario Reis Female-male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble vocalist  
Victor 65774 10-in. 6/13/1933 Eu queria ser ioiô… Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65790 10-in. 6/29/1933 Por amor este branco Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65791 10-in. 6/29/1933 Perdi minha mascote Carmen Miranda ; Patrício Teixeira Female-male vocal duet vocalist  
Victor 65795 10-in. 7/6/1933 As cinco estações do anno Almirante ; Lamartine Babo ; Carmen Miranda ; Mario Reis Mixed vocal quartet vocalist  
Victor 65810 10-in. 7/19/1933 Que bom estava Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65814 10-in. 7/20/1933 Bom dia, meu amor! Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65823 10-in. 8/1/1933 Tão grande, tão bobo Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
Victor 65824 10-in. 8/1/1933 Inconstitucionalissimamente Carmen Miranda Female vocal solo vocalist  
(Results 76-100 of 180 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Miranda, Carmen," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104651.

Miranda, Carmen. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104651.

"Miranda, Carmen." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104651

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