Having recorded 194 78 rpm albums and six LP's, Alcides Gerardi had success between 1945 and 1967, especially as a bolero singer. His biggest hits are the samba "Antonico" (Ismael Silva), later re-recorded by Gal Costa and Elza Soares; "Tudo Foi Ilusão" (Laert Santos/Arcilino Tavares); "Brotinho Maluco" (Aníbal Cruz); "Castelo de Areia" (Geraldo Jacques/Isaías Freitas/Moreirinha); and "E Eu Sem Maria" (Alcir Pires Vermelho/Dorival Caymmi). In 1958, he launched his own composition, "Filha do Coronel" (co-written by Irani de Oliveira), having also been a prolific lyricist. Starting his professional career in 1935 as a crooner in a Carioca gafieira, four years later he joined the group Namorados ao Luar, in which he enjoyed some success. With Marília Batista and her brother Henrique Batista, Gerardi formed the group Os Três Marrecos in 1941. In the same year, he recorded "Não Faça Vontade a Ela" (Nelson Cavaquinho). In 1944, when he was already the crooner for Simon Bountman's orchestra, Gerardi was hired by Rádio Transmissora. His first hit was the samba-canção "Pergunte a Ela" (Geraldo Pereira/Fernando Martins, 1948), but his biggest one was from 1950, the samba "Antonico" (Ismael Silva). After a stint at the Rádio Tupi, he went to Rádio Nacional in 1953, where he worked until his retirement. ~ Alvaro Neder