Zelito Coringa was born José Zelito de Oliveira in 1946 in Ponta do Tubarão, a fishing village on the coast of Ceará, Brazil. He grew up hearing the accordion music of Luiz Gonzaga and the local rhythms of his hometown.
In the late 1960s, he began working with accordionist Pedro Ernesto. Their forró music gained popularity in northeastern Brazil. Zelito's song 'Ponta do Tubarão' came out in 1975 and became his best-known work, with lyrics about life in his coastal village.
He recorded more than thirty albums over his career, mixing forró with samba and baião. He sometimes played with musicians like Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, and Elba Ramalho. His band included Pedro Ernesto on accordion, Zé Ramos on zabumba, and others on triangle, cavaquinho, and guitar.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.