• Birth Name: Luís Gonzaga Bittencourt
• Genre: Latin

Biography

Having more than 130 recorded compositions, Luís Bittencourt wrote jewels of the period known as the Golden Age of the Brazilian song. He also had a noted career as an instrumentalist in several groups and orchestras and as producer and artistic director for various recording companies.

Son of the violonista (acoustic guitar player) Antônio Lourenço Bittencourt, one of the important names of the beginning of the century in Brazilian popular music, Luís Bittencourt took his first violão lessons from his father. In 1930, he opened his career in the Rádio Educadora and in Rádio Philips, in Renato Murce's show Horas de Outro Mundo. Bittencourt became a professional in 1935 in the Cassino da Urca orchestra. Bittencourt worked from 1936 to 1960 in the orchestras of RCA Victor and Rádio Nacional. He was also a member of the Regional Guanabara, Regional de Dante Santoro, Regional de Benedito Lacerda, Regional de Rogério Guimarães, Regional RCA Victor, Chiquinho e Seu Ritmo, and the orchestras of Sinter, Musidisc, and Continental. His first recorded song was "Lua Triste," by Sílvio Caldas, in 1936 (Odeon). "Nova Ilusão" (with José Meneses) scored a hit in 1948 in the Os Cariocas recording. Other hits were "Aquelas Palavras" (1945), sung by Benny Woldoff; "Casadinhos" (1945), by Tuiú; and "A Grande Verdade" (1948), by Marlene. From 1952 to 1961 was the artistic director for the companies Sinter and Philips, becoming a producer for Musidisc and Nilser. Since 1961 is a member of the Orquestra Sinfônica Nacional. ~ Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide