With the death of Pelé, the world not only loses one of the greatest athletes in history. The most famous of all Brazilian soccer artists, who won three World Cups and was more than just a gifted lawn athlete, once also had a successful career as a singer-songwriter.
Even though Pelé said in an interview with The Guardian in 2006 that his footballing talent was a gift from God, but that his love of music was just a joke, the Brazilian has worked on his music career almost all his life.
He always carried a small recording device with him, and even after his career on the pitch he always had to take his guitar with him when he traveled, so that a melody could be conjured up quickly for a found text.
The passion for music did not remain a private pleasure either: over the years, Pelé has also released numerous albums and songs.
In 1977, together with the composer and arranger Sérgio Mendes, he developed the soundtrack for a documentary film about his own life under the name “Pelé”, thus making his debut as a singer and songwriter. The football genius contributed the tracks “Meu Mundo É uma Bola (My World Is a Ball)” and “Cidade Grande (Big City)”, supported by the Brazilian singer Gracinha Leporace.
In 2014, to coincide with the soccer World Cup in Brazil, the album “Pelé Ginga” was released, on which Pelé sang with the Brazilian music greats Gilberto Gil (“Quem Sou Eu”) and Elis Regina (“Perdão Não Tem” and “Vexamão”).
With the song “Ginga”, the Brazilian rapper Rappin’ Hood commemorated a way of playing football that is so light and flowing that the opponent has the feeling of not even being there on the pitch.
For the Brazilian event of the century, the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, Pelé also became active as a musician. “Esperança” is a happy song about young people, recorded with a children’s choir. Of course, the music video also features a lot of boys playing football.
The last Pelé music production to date was released in 2020. The single “Acredita No Véio (Listen To The Old Man)” was released just three days before his 80th birthday and was recorded with Mexican acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. It’s also a homage to the quirks of football, to the belief in good and evil forces that control the game.
Pelé died on Thursday (December 29) at the age of 82 in São Paulo. He has been treated for colon cancer since 2021 and had been admitted to the hospital last month. His family stood by him in the last moments of his life.