Gal Costa, legendary Brazilian singer, has died at age 77. He was reportedly suffering from dementia.
This story is according to The Guardian, who reported the news with no information on the singer.
The Guardian writes, “One of the world’s greatest samba singers has died at the age of 77, his wife has told the London Telegraph.
“Carlos, best known for his trademark song ‘Gente dos sertões’ (People of the South), died on Monday at their home in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 77. His wife, Lívia Maria de Barros, said she and Carlos had been suffering ‘difficulty in understanding each other.’”
The story continues, “Carlos was known for his raspy voice and was sometimes known as the voice of samba, and his singing style is said to have influenced those who followed him on the dance floors.”
It is unclear why the news of his death wasn’t announced by the singer in a statement at the time.
Carlos, better known as Carlinhos Burleine in Brazil, was born in Rio de Janeiro on October 30, 1930. He was one of several children raised in a very wealthy extended family.
The Guardian writes, “He was given his first guitar at the age of seven. When he was nine, he went on a holiday with his family to Monte Video and then on to the United States in 1955, where he met his future wife, Lívia Maria de Barros, at the age of 20.
“In 1959, she was 20, he was 24, and they married six years later. She was his second wife, and they had four children together, five if you count Carlos-Geralda.
“A few years after he moved to New York, Carlos met his third wife, Tereza,
