Biography

Vitorino Salomé Vieira (born 11 July 1942), commonly known simply as Vitorino, is a Portuguese singer-songwriter. His music combines the traditional music of his native region of Alentejo and urban popular song. Vitorino was born in 1942 in Redondo, to a family of musicians. His father was a Fado de Coimbra singer and mandolin player, as did his grandfather. Vitorino's uncle meanwhile was active in the Lisbon Fado scene. His younger brother, Janita Salomé, is also a musician.

At the age of 11 Vitorino started learning the piano at a monastery in his home town, although he quickly abandoned it and did not go back to formal musical training afterwards. Instead, he sang in local choirs and associations and at private gatherings.

In 1968 he went to Lisbon in pursuit of his artistic studies, where he soon became acquainted with, and became part of, a group of friends encompassing José Afonso, Adriano Correia de Oliveira, Fausto and José Mário Branco. Together with Branco, he left Lisbon in 1969 for Paris, where he, like his friend, began his career as a song writer and protest singer. A notable concert was his appearance at the Théâtre de la Mutualité, where Vitorino joined José Afonso, José Mário Branco, Luís Cília, Sérgio Godinho and Tino Flores in what became one of the most prolific concerts of Portuguese dissidents against the Estado Novo dictatorship.

In 1973 Vitorino returned to Portugal, where he continued his career as a singer. He also joined José Afonso as a guitarist at the I. Encontro da Canção Portuguesa on March 29, 1974 at the Coliseu dos Recreios. His first official release, an 7"-EP named Morra Quem não Tem Amores, was published after the Carnation Revolution in April 1974.

His first album, Semear Salsa Ao Reguinho, was released in 1975. Produced by Fausto and featuring José Afonso and Sérgio Godinho, this album is notable for Vitorino's arrangements of traditional folk songs, like Menina estás à janela, which later became a staple of his live concerts, and for songs Cante Alentejano, a traditional style of music from his home region. Until the 1980s Vitorino often relied on rearranging traditional tunes with help from Pedro Caldeira Cabral; after that the amount of own compositions in his repertoire grew, influenced by different genres, from jazz to classical music and world music.

Vitorino is a founding member of the 1990 Lua Extravagante project, and participated the band Rio Grande, a Portuguese supergroup active from 1996 to 1998 and featuring Portuguese stars like Rui Veloso, Xutos & Pontapés singer Tim, Jorge Palma, and João Gil of Trovante.

For his album Eu Que Me Comovo Por Tudo E Por Nada he received 1993 the José Afonso award, and during the same year he released his Best of album named As Mais Bonitas.

In 1994, Vitorino received the Order of Liberty in the rank of Official.