Biography

Farnésio Dutra e Silva (14 November 1921 – 4 August 1987), better known as Dick Farney, was a Brazilian jazz pianist, composer, and singer who was popular in Brazil from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s and 1980s. He began playing piano as a child, as his father taught him classical music and his mother taught him how to sing. In 1937, he debuted as a singer on the show Hora Juvenil of Radio Cruzeiro do Sul in Rio de Janeiro, performing the song "Deep Purple" composed by Peter DeRose. Farney was invited by César Ladeira to Radio Mayrink Veiga to host the program Dick Farney, the Voice and Piano. He then formed the group Os Swing Maniacos with his brother Cyll Farney on drums. The band accompanied Edu da Gaita for the recording of "Indian Song" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. From 1941 to 1944, Farney sang with the orchestra of Carlos Machado at the Casino da Urca when gambling was still allowed in Brazil.

In 1946, he was invited to the United States after meeting the arranger Bill Hitchcock and pianist Eddy Duchin at the Copacabana Palace Hotel. In November 1947, Farney had a Billboard chart hit with the song "I Wish I Didn't Love You So", which reached number 13. In 1947 and 1948, he appeared on many radio shows for NBC, particularly as a singer with the The Milton Berle Show. In 1948, he performed at Vogue, a nightclub in Rio de Janeiro. In 1959 he had his own TV program, The Dick Farney Show, which was aired by TV Record Channel 7 in São Paulo. During the following year, he formed Dick Farney and His Orchestra and played at many events. In 1965, he was hosted the Dick and Betty Show with Betty Faria on the newly created TV Globo Channel 4, Rio de Janeiro.

Farney was the owner of the nightclubs Farney's and Farney's Inn, both in São Paulo. He formed a trio with Sabá in 1971. From 1973 to 1978, he played piano and sang at the nightclub Chez Régine in Rio.