Toni Tornado

Antônio Viana Gomes was born in 1930 in the interior of São Paulo state and, while still a boy, ran away to Rio, where he survived by shining shoes and selling peanuts. He served as a paratrooper and was at the Suez Canal in 1957. In the 1960s, he imitated Chubby Checker on TV as Tony Checker, spent five years in New York, and crossed paths there with Tim Maia. After returning, he sang with Ed Lincoln's group. In 1970, now performing as Tornado and under the influence of James Brown, he took "BR-3" to first place in the Brazilian stage of the V FIC alongside Trio Ternura and helped bring soul music to the country. His 1972 LP was released by Odeon; that same year, he made his debut as a soap-opera actor.