Music like Zé Ramalho

Zé Ramalho (born José Ramalho Neto on October 3, 1949 – Brejo do Cruz – Paraíba, Brazil) is a Brazilian composer and performer. Zé Ramalho has collaborated with various major Brazilian musicians, including Vanusa, Geraldo Azevedo and Alceu Valença to name a few. Zé Ramalho is also the first cousin of Elba Ramalho, a well known Brazilian composer and performer.

As with many musicians back in his younger days, he was first influenced by rock and roll; however, at the age of 20, his music took a more Northeastern Brazilian approach. Zé Ramalho's lyrics however, are very influenced by the socio-economic difficulties faced by the average Brazilian.

Zé Ramalho was born to Estelita Torres Ramalho, an elementary school teacher, and Antônio de Pádua Pordeus Ramalho, a Seresta performer. When he was two years old, his father drowned in a reservoir of the sertão, and he was then adopted by his grandfather. His love for his grandfather would later be expressed in the song "Avôhai". After spending most of his childhood in Campina Grande, his family moved to João Pessoa. Ramalho went to medicine school at the Federal University of Paraíba.