Fado Portugues

Amalia Rodrigues

Amalia Rodrigues is to Portuguese fado as Billie Holiday is to jazz; an iconic, groundbreaking figure with an arftfully melancholic style, whose recordings defined the genre. The universally acknowledged Queen of Fado, Lisbon-born Rodrigues became a star in her native country in the early 1940s, but by the following decade she was known worldwide, making international TV and film appearances in addition to her global performane itinerary. The tireless innovator continued performing into the '90s, until her death in 1999.