Brazilian romance 1964

This is where everything started. Teddy Reno allowed his 'ward' to sing at 'Reino da Juventude', a TV weekly show compered by DJ Antonio Aguillar on Saturday, 20 June 1964. Teddy said Rita would NOT sing at his show due to contrat's obligations. But as soon as Rita entered the stage of Teatro Record, Brazilian rock band The Clevers started playing 'Datemi un martello' and the audience sang along. Rita couldn't help but getting the microphone out of Aguillar's hand and sing along.

After that, Aguillar made a 'covenant' with Teddy Reno. Aguillar would let The Clevers accompany Rita during her week in São Paulo with no charge. The only thing Aguillar wanted was to 'plant' in the local media that Rita was having an affair with Luiz Franco Thomas, or simply Netinho, the Clever's drummer. Teddy agreed without realizing that the news fly fast... and sooner than later it was all over not only Brazil but Europe...

Conjunto Lancaster de Danças Modernas & Rita Pavone after their performance at 'Reino da Juventude' on 20 June 1964 (courtesy of Paulo Hesse, the young man on the extreme left).

Paulo Hesse with Jacqueline Myrna a year earlier (1963). 

Radio Nacional Paulista MC Ademar Dutra interviews members of the Lancaster Dancing Group.

At first Rita's romance with Netinho was local news, but soon the international news agency caught up with the story and the hullabaloo cascaded into a tsunami.

colourized photo of Rita at Antonio Aguilar's 'Reino da Juventude' TV show. 

Rita rocks while Netinho keeps the beat...

Rita, pianist/conductor Stelvio Cipriani & Netinho.

News about Rita Pavone's romance with drummer Netinho was all over Europe, including Spain...

Revista Radiolandia from Buenos Aires, publishes on 7  August 1964, a 2-page article about Rita Pavone and the exploits of her supposed sweetheart, Brazilian drummer Luiz Franco aka Netinho who answer some questions about their romance. 

El prometido de la cantante se muestra seguro: 

RITA PAVONE NO LLEVARÁ MÁS LOS PANTALONES EN CASA

Netinho, Luiz Franco, el baterísta de San Pablo cuyo amor con Rita Pavone ha tomado estado público, se ha convertido de la noche a la mañana en un persona famosa. Una persona a cual persigue el periodismo oral, escrito y televisivo. Hace de esto apenas unos días, el baterista debió responder a un extenso cuestionario cuyas preguntas fundamentales incluian aspectos de su noviazgo con la famosísima intérprete juvenil.

- No sabría decir si nos casaremos muy pronto - dijo Franco. Dejaremos que el tiempo dé la respuesta. He recibido algunas cartas de Rita y solo le hablé una vez por teléfono a Roma. No lo he vuelto a hacer porque cuesta muchísimo dinero.

- Y quién será el jefe de la familia cuando se casen? - insistió el periodista.

- Por supuesto que yo - agregó Netinho - los pantalones los debe llevar el hombre. Tiene que existir una absoluta comprensión, pero es el hombre quien en última instancia debe decidir.

El baterista paulistano no quiso responder a todas las preguntas. No dijo si había besado a su novia, aunque esto se descuenta. El novio de Rita Pavone es un muchacho tranquilo y que despertó una flamígera pasión en el corazón de la cantante italiana, pero que no le dejará llevar los pantalones a Rita. Lo conseguirá? 

...Deutschland

Netinho tells Revista do Rádio he'll marry Rita in 1965.

Later on, Netinho tells 'Revista do Rádio' Rita has changed her mind about marrying him.

Rita & Netinho as reported in the weekly 'Oggi' in Livorno.

As Netinho & The Clevers arrived in Rome they were welcomed by both Teddy Reno and Rita Pavone. They even made an arrangement to show Netinho  the great beach of Viareggio in the region of Firenze. These were the first days when the Italian press was very much interested in their supposed romance. Papparazzi took hundreds of photos of the two young lovers which ended up in the pages of young magazines like 'Giovani', 'Big', 'Sorrisi & Canzoni' or illustrated magazines like 'Oggi', 'Gente, 'L'Europeo' etc. As the presse became more interested in the so-called romance, Teddy Reno turned cold on the idea of this subject and Rita and Netinho went their separate ways. They would be seen together only on the stages of the multitude of places they performed during the rest of that Summer... but photos of the 'romance' simply disappeared. By the end of the summer-tour, they were completely stranged from each other. They last performed at the same stage at the closing night of the yearly Festival of Cinema of Venice. It was arranged that The Clevers would be put into an airplane to Rio de Janeiro the very next day... and they never saw each other again. 

by the spring of 1965, Rita says the romance with Netinho, the Brazilian drummer was over.