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Rita Lee, known as Brazil’s Queen of Rock, died on Monday. She had been receiving treatment for lung cancer since the year 2021. She was 75 years old.
© GettyImagesNews of Lee’s death were shared on her Instagram account, in Portuguese, revealing that she passed away in her home in São Paulo. “At this moment of profound sadness, the family thanks everyone for their affection and love,” reads the post, which then invited fans to a public wake at Parque Ibirapuera. Varios celebrities and people have left tributes for Lee, including her son, Joao Lee. He shared a video of the two, which showed him as a baby held in his mother’s arms. “Good chances are that at some point in your life, that person will look like your hero/heroine. It’s inevitable. And you are, and always have been, my hero,” he wrote.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva posted a lenghty tribute, calling her an inspiration for women in rock and the arts. “She will never be forgotten.”
Lee was born in São Paulo to an American father and a Brazilian mother. She was a part of various musical acts over her career, including the bands Tutti Frutti and Os Mutantes, with the latter acquiring great success with the tropicalia genre of music, released during Brazil’s military dictatorship. Lee sold 55 million records over her career. She was also a solo artist, performing various songs that are now considered classics, among them “Ovelha Negra” (Black Sheep) and “Mania de Voce” (Mania For You). She won a Latin Grammy in the year 2001.
© GettyImagesLee had international acclaim, having fans all over the world, including Kurt Cobain , David Byrne, and even King Charles III. In 1988, The Daily Mirror reported that Charles requested Lee’s record to be played during a British embassy banquet in Paris, and that he knew the lyrics of the songs by heart.
