Cássia Eller

Respected Brazilian musician and singer Cássia Eller was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1962 and as a teenager worked in musical theatre. At the age of 19 she moved to Belo Horizonte and her first job as an adult was as a trainee bricklayer which she augmented by performing music in the evenings and at weekends. Her repertoire was wide and included songs by Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Janis Joplin and also works by top Brazilian artists Cazuza and Renato Russo.

She was 27 when she signed her first record deal and began recording for Polygram. During her career she recorded six albums, all of which were well received by fans and critics. She had an intense stage presence and her performances were characterised by her deep voice and intelligent interpretations of a diverse range of material. She declared herself to be an interpreter of other artists' work and her distinctive voice made her work instantly recognisable. Eller's premature death came in 2001 when she suffered a series of heart attacks before eventually succumbing to heart disease at the age of 39.