Biography
Carlos Paião was a Portuguese singer and songwriter. He was born in Coimbra. From a very early age, Carlos Paião proved to be a prolific composer, and in 1978 he had written more than two hundred songs. That year he received the first public recognition by winning the Illiabum Clube Song Contest.
In 1980, he competes for the first time at the Festival da canção RTP. A year later, he participated again and won. That resulted in his song “Play-back” representing Portugal in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. Carlos Paião released another hit single later that year; One that remains popular up until now: “Pó de Arroz”. The success that followed was “Marcha do Pião das Nicas”, a song in which the singer once again showed his satirical side. Carlos Paião composed songs for other artists, including Amália Rodrigues.
His first album, however, did not get the recognition Paião was hoping for. However, he participated in the television program O Foguete, with António Sala and Luís Arriaga. In 1983, he sang alongside Cândida Branca Flor in the Festival da canção. In 1985 he competed for the World Popular Song Festival of Tokyo.
On 26 August 1988 Carlos Paião died in a car accident while on his way to a concert.
Paião was preparing a new album titled Interval, which was to be released in September of that year. Composer, performer and instrumentalist, Carlos Paião has produced over three hundred songs.
