1969 Chico Viola Awards XII

1. País tropical                                                  Wilson Simonal           Odeon 

2. Aquele abraço                                               Gilberto Gil                 Philips
3. Sentado à beira do caminho                         Erasmo Carlos            RGE
4. A namorada que sonhei                                Nilton Cesar                RCA

5. F... comme femme                                         Adamo                        Odeon

6. Sou louca por você                                       Elizabeth                     Caravelle
7. Tudo passará                                                Nelson Ned                 Copacabana
8. O pequeno burguês                                      Martinho da Vila           RCA
9. Adeus, ingrata                                               Claudio Fontana          Copacabana 

10. Eu disse adeus                                            Roberto Carlos            CBS

11. Férias na India                                              Nilton Cesar                 RCA

12. Uma lagrima (Una lacrima)                           Paulo Henrique           RCA

13. Deixa-me outro dia, menos hoje                   Agnaldo Timoteo         Odeon 

14. O vagabundo (Il giramondo)                         Os Incriveis                  RCA 

15. Será?                                                            Marcos Roberto           Continental

16. Se eu pudesse conversar com Deus             Antonio Marcos            RCA
17. Aqueles tempos (Those were the days)        Joelma                         Chantecler 

18. Aqui                                                                Martinha                      Copacabana
19. Casa de bamba                                             Jair Rodrigues              Philips
20. Murmura o mar (Bruit des vagues)                 Altemar Dutra              Odeon

21. Não fico mais sem teu carinho                       Antonio Marcos             RCA
22. Distante dos olhos (Lontano dagli occhi)       Moacyr Franco              Copacabana
23. Vou pedir outra vez                                        Paulo Sergio                 Caravelle
24. O amor é tudo (Love is all)                             Agnaldo Rayol              Copacabana
25. Se ela voltar                                                   Wanderley Cardoso      Copacabana 

26. Tão belo era outrora (Memories are made of this)  Roberto Barreiros  Chantecler

14 March 1970 - Things had been changing (for the worse) steadily but surely since 13 December 1968, when there was a 'coup within the 1964 coup'. The military junta turned the screws even tighter. Most of the Brazilian press that wholeheartedly embraced the coup d'etait 6 years earlier were now having 2nd thoughts about their folly in helping to oust a representative democracy and take a jump into the darkness of totalitarianism that no one knew where it would stop if stop it woud at all. 

TV Record knew it was losing ground rapidly to Rio de Janeiro's TV Globo, the darling of the regime. TV Excelsior which had been the #1 TV station prior to the coup was about to die, TV Tupi was just 'hanging there'. Brazil was fast going from a democracy (since 1946) into a one-party-state and now a one-TV-network-country. 

Just before Christmas 1968 the military had turned even more sanguinary and introduced total censorship of the press through infamous AI-5 (Institutional Act #5). Many people saw no other way out and left the country altogether. Singer-song-writers Gilberto Gil & Caetano Veloso were kidnapped by a para-military group, encarcerated and forced to leave the country seeking asylum in London, England. Ironically, Gilberto Gil recorded 'Aquele abraço', his last song before leaving for the UK went straight to Number One, ending up as the 2nd best selling single in 1969.  

Geraldo Vandré's 'Caminhando' was banned by the Junta and TV Record was afraid to include it in Chico Viola's list of best selling records of 1969, which it was.

1970 would be the year the Dictatorship would 'consolidate' its power due to the popularity of the Brazilian football team at the World Cup in Mexico.

Military strongman Costa e Silva sits alone in the National Congress which he shut down with a stroke of his pen in December 1968.