Cauã Zenha
"Mas que nada! Get out of my way 'cause I want to pass" — this was the vibrant refrain that echoed everywhere, outdoing several other artists' songs that were competing with Jorge Ben on the charts. In the summer of 1964, the hits that used to sit at the top of the charts were all overtaken by a new kind of sound, one that music critics said had a unique swing and a revolutionary groove, brought about by the album "Samba Esquema Novo." Breaking away from the bossa nova conceptions that were so strong in the Brazilian music scene of the time, Jorge Ben became what some called the greatest phenomenon in Brazilian popular music of that era, all while asserting a strong Black identity and opening new horizons for the country's artistic scene.
The songs "Mas que nada!" and "Chove chuva" were absolute hits, which contributed greatly to the singer's album reaching the record-breaking figure of 100,000 copies sold. Thus, to celebrate this historic milestone, the record company Philips, Jorge Ben's label, held a party at the Little Club venue on April 3, 1964, a date that also coincided with the label's fifteenth anniversary. Riding the wave of success, the singer embarked on recording new songs, among them "Samba Menina". In one of the recordings, while singing this track, Jorge Ben extended a warm invitation to all his admirers to the cocktail party sponsored by Philips, which would celebrate the monumental sales success of the "Samba Esquema Novo" LPs: "dear friend, I, Jorge Ben, hope to have the honor of your presence at the cocktail party offered by Discos Philips in celebration of the 100,000 records sold".
Image description: The image is a photograph of a man playing guitar. He is wearing a red shirt and purple pants. The background is neutral, possibly beige. In the upper right corner, there is a Philips logo. On the right, the name "Jorge Ben" is written in red letters, followed by the words "Samba," "Esquema," and "Novo" in yellow letters.Capa do álbum Samba Esquema Novo, de Jorge Ben
. 1963. Gravadora Philips. Instituto Memória Musical Brasileira.