Secos & Molhados

• Genre: Tropicalia

About

They're the best-known Brazilian band that nobody outside Brazil knows about. These guys were painting their faces and dressing outrageously before KISS had slipped on their first pair of tight trousers, and they played an odd amalgam of tropicalia and soft rock with hard-rock flourishes. Their 1973 debut sold an astonishing 700,000 copies. With lead singer Ney Matogrosso doing his damnedest to sound like Rita Lee (and succeeding) and a melodic sense that rivaled Os Mutantes (though it was perhaps less psychedelic), they were an oddity that gained an enormous following and launched Matogrosso's career, as well as that of several other members of the band. Founder Joao Ricardo kept control of the name and revived it sporadically with different lineups through the years.

- Sarah Bardeen