Renato Russo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Renato Russo
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Renato Manfredini, Jr. |
| Born | March 27, 1960 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil |
| Origin | Brasília, DF, Brazil |
| Died | October 11, 1996 (aged 36) Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, lyricist, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | 1978–1996 |
| Labels | EMI |
| Associated acts | Legião Urbana, Aborto Elétrico |
Renato Russo (born Renato Manfredini, Jr., March 27, 1960 – October 11, 1996) was a Brazilian rock musician. He was the lead singer of the Brazilian pop rock band Legião Urbana. A Brazilian film depicting his life and career was released in 2013, called Somos Tão Jovens (We Are So Young).
Contents
Childhood
Renato Manfredini Jr. was born in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro. He started his studies at an early age, at Colégio Olavo Billac. During this period he wrote an essay titled "Old house, in ruins". His father was an executive at Banco do Brasil, and the family moved to Forest Hills, Queens, New York in 1967, when he was assigned a job in the city. Renato and his family returned later to Rio de Janeiro and moved in with his uncle Sávio. At 18 years old, he came out as bisexual to his mother.
Adolescence
In 1973, his family moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília, Distrito Federal, moving to the "Asa Sul" sector. In 1975, aged 15, Renato went through one of the hardest phases of his life when he was diagnosed as suffering from epiphysiolysis, a bone disease. He underwent surgery. While he was under treatment, he did little more than listening to music, collecting an extensive and varied album collection. In an interview, Renato stated that this period was crucial in shaping his musical ear.
Musical career
During the years of 1978 and 1979, he was the bass player in a punk rock band which lasted 4 years, from 1978 to 1982, but broke up due to constant arguing between Fê Lemos, the drummer, and Renato. Although the band did not last long, during this period Renato Russo wrote many songs that would later become hits of Capital Inicial (founded by the remaining members of Aborto Elétrico) and Legião Urbana (founded by Renato Russo).
After the end of Aborto Elétrico, Renato began a solo career as the "Trovador Solitário" (Lonely Minstrel). This period only lasted a few months, as in 1982, he joined Marcelo Bonfá (the drummer of the band Dado e o Reino Animal), Eduardo Paraná (guitar player, known as Kadu Lambach) and Paulo Guimarães (keyboard player, known as Paulo Paulista) to form Legião Urbana. Renato was the lead vocal and bass player. Their main influences were the post punk bands of the time, especially Robert Smith from The Cure and Morrissey from The Smiths.
After the first few concerts, Eduardo Paraná and Paulo Paulista left the band. Dado Villa-Lobos then took over the guitars, creating the classic line-up of the band. The band also had Renato Rocha as a bass player from 1984 to 1989.
Leading Legião Urbana, Renato Russo reached the peak of his career as a musician, being recognized as the most important songwriter of Brazilian rock, securing a cult status within his fanbase.
He used to write long songs. The Dylan-esque "Faroeste Caboclo", for instance, lasts 9:05, "Clarisse" is 10:33 long and "Metal Contra as Nuvens" is 11:29 minutes. The song "Fátima" was written in ten minutes. He recorded two solo albums, with both English and Italian songs, in the 1990s.
Personal life
During his career he had four books published and, after his death, another four books were released about him, one of them being "Conversações com Renato Russo", which contains excerpts from interviews showing his point of view on rock, the world and politics.
Death
Renato Russo died on October 11, 1996, at 1:15 a.m., due to complications caused by AIDS. He left a son, Giuliano Manfredini, at the time 7 years old.
On October 22, 1996, eleven days after his death, Dado and Bonfá announced the end of Legião Urbana. The band's estimated sales in Brazil during Renato's life amounted to roughly 25 million albums. More than a decade after his death, sales of his albums are still considerable.
Discography
With Legião Urbana
Solo
Studio albums
- The Stonewall Celebration Concert (1994)
- Equilíbrio Distante (1995)
- O Último Solo (1997)
- Presente (2003)
Compilation albums
- Série Bis: Renato Russo - Duplo (2000)
- Série Para Sempre: Renato Russo (2001)
- Série Identidade: Renato Russo (2002)
- O Talento de Renato Russo (2004)
- Renato Russo - Uma Celebração (2006)
- O Trovador Solitário (2008)
- Renato Russo: Duetos (2010)
- Sinfônico (2013)
- Somos Tão Jovens (movie soundtrack, 2013)
