A Banda

A song so instantly beloved it changed the shape of a career. "A Banda" arrives as a march — a small-town brass band coming down the street — with the rhythm of a *marchinha* de carnaval, snare taps and horn figures that make the listener want to fall into step. Chico was twenty-two, singing in a light, unforced baritone with an almost boyish clarity, and the melody is one of those that seems to have existed forever. The lyric describes the whole town interrupting its sorrows as the band passes: the sad girl stops crying, the old man forgets his years, the tough guy loosens up, the whole street briefly transfigured. Then the band goes by and everything returns to what it was. That final turn is what elevates it above sweetness — happiness here is real but borrowed, a parade that does not stop. Winning the 1966 TV Record festival tied with Geraldo Vandré's "Disparada," it became a national event and made Chico famous overnight, later putting him in the awkward position of being the country's most respectable young songwriter just as the country turned repressive. Put it on when you need something communal and mildly bittersweet — a kitchen on a Sunday, or a walk into town.