1924

Born in São Paulo, he moved to Rio at age 4. At 18, he went to medical school and began hanging out with samba musicians. That's when he started writing his sambas. In 1946, Paulo became a teacher. He graduated a year later, got married and moved to the U.S., where he got another degree in zoology at the Harvard University. Back in São Paulo, he wrote his greatest classic ever in 1951, the samba-tune "Ronda". The song, launched by singer Inezita Barroso, didn't make it right away. It would only happen in the 60s. Still in 1951, Vanzolini released the poetry book "Lira". Then, he became a TV actor. In 1963, his samba "Volta Por Cima", was successfully launched by singer Noite Ilustrada. It would be Vanzolini's second classic hit. That same year, Vanzolini was turned director of the Zoology Museum and continued writing songs. In 1967, two of his friends - Luís Carlos Paraná and Marcus Pereira - decided to record an album with his songs, "11 Sambas e uma Capoeira", performed by artists like Chico Buarque. He began composing with guitarst Toquinho, producing songs like "Na Boca da Noite", "Boba" and "Noite Longa". In 1974, Marcus Pereira put out another album by Vanzolini, named "A Música de Paulo Vanzolini", performed by the likes of Carmen Costa and Paulo Marques, such as "Falta de Mim" and "Mulher Que Não Dá Samba".