Episode 37: Tim Maia Tribute

Today is one of those rare occasions when a full episode of Tropicology is devoted to a single artist. You’ve got to be big to rate two full hours of air time on this show, and this artist was larger than life in many respects. He was a Brazilian soul singer known for his big voice; he could range from raspy hard-edged soul like Otis Redding all the way to smooth slowjams like Barry White. But he was also known for his large appetites for food, drink, and drugs, and for a tempestuous personal life in general. He was married 5 times, and for one year in the mid-70s he joined a fairly bizarre religious cult in Brazil. He collapsed onstage in 1998 at the age of 55; a few days later he died. I am referring to Tim Maia, Brazil’s Godfather of Soul. Today’s show will be all music from Tim Maia spanning his 3-decade recording career, but with a focus on his early albums in the 1970s.