The hit song, "Tighten Up" by Texas R&B group Archie Bell & The Drells was the inspiration for the title track of Jorge Ben's 1970 Força Bruta. By the 1970s, samba-rock and samba-soul were becoming the predominant trends in 1970s Brazilian popular music. Moreover, Jorge Ben and other Afro-Brazilian artists were beginning to incorporate more themes of resistance, black and brown power, and cultural pride during this decade by using American funk and soul styles. This culminated in Jorge Ben's Africa Brasil and Negro e lindo albums, articulating a pride in Afro-Brazilian culture usually not expressed so explicitly in most Brazilian popular music. Check out Jorge Ben's "Brazilianized" version of "Tighten Up" here. Jorge's version uses the same guitar lines but with obviously different lyrics sung in Portuguese. Also, watch this live version of the original song.
Also check out Wilson Simonal, a popular Afro-Brazilian singer during this same period who recorded a tribute to Martin Luther King.
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