1957

Having learned how to play the acoustic guitar and the drums in his teens, Lobão left his parent’s home in Rio de Janeiro at age 17 to become a professional musician, playing with the band Vímana (with Lulu Santos and Ritchie). Vímana lasted for three years and released a single. When the band broke up, Lobão continued as a professional drummer, playing with Luiz Melodia, Walter Franco and Marina. In 1980, he joined the band Blitz, but left the group right before their lucky break. Two years later, he recorded his first solo LP, "Cena de Cinema", which had been poorly assembled on a cassette tape that was aired non-stop at the rock station Radio Fluminense. It was so successful that RCA Victor bought the disc and promoted its commercial release. Later, he lined up a back up band under the name Lobão & Os Ronaldos, released the album "Ronaldo Foi Pra Guerra" (1984), and performed in New York, on account of the hit track "Me Chama". The band broke up and Lobão disappeared for a while. He returned in 1986 with the LP " O Rock Errou" - an album that criticized the lack of authenticity faced by rock’n’roll at the time -, with Elza Soares singing one of the tracks. That album produced hits like "Revanche". The following year, Lobão was arrested on drug possession and spent a year in jail, where he elaborated his next album, "Vida Bandida" (or Gangsta Life) – a very successful enterprise. As he left jail on parole, Lobão got interested in samba and carnival, but his 1988 record, "Cuidado!", a samba/rock mix, didn’t make it to the top charts. In the 90s, he made other albums and played festivals like Hollywood Rock, where he got amazing reception; and Rock in Rio II, where he got a historic booing. A few discs and a motorcycle accident later, he spent the next four years only studying classic guitar. In 1995, he began composing again and released "Nostalgia da Modernidade". In 1999, relying on his ever-polemic attitude, Lobão turned against all recording companies and put out the CD "A Vida É Doce" utilizing a very new strategy, selling the album only on newsstands, web sites and megastores, printing numbers on the CDs and being totally free from major labels. "Vida Bandida", "Vida, Louca Vida", "Chorando no Campo", "Cuidado", "Rádio Blá", "Mal Nenhum" and "Canos Silenciosos" are some of his greatest hits.