Lady Zu

Lady Zu was one of the most popular artists of Brazilian soul and disco music of the '70s. Zuleide Santos da Silva started her career as a singer at eight in the O Dois é Nosso show (TV Cultura/São Paulo). Holding diverse jobs to make a living while knocking on recording companies' doors, she finally had a chance in 1977, when she, launched as "the Brazilian Donna Summer," recorded the single with "A Noite Vai Chegar" (Paulinho Camargo) and "Eu Prefiro Dançar" (Totó Mugabi). It was released the next year, and it sold several thousand copies. The first LP, A Noite Vai Chegar (1978), with the homonymous hit, was her definitive consecration in the balls of the working-class suburbs. Appointed the Queen of the Brazilian Discothèque, she also had the hits "Hora da União" (Totó Mugabi), "Eu Prefiro Dançar" (Totó Mugabi), and "Só Você" (Cleide Dalto's version of Paul Greedus' "Bah") before the disco craze vanished from Brazil in the late '70s. Only doing sporadic performances since then, Lady Zu recorded again in 1988 (the Sharp prize-nominated Alma Negra, shared with Carlinhos Trumpete, Tony Tornado, Luiz Vagner, and Tony Bizarro).