Music was an important part of Pelé's life: the Brazilian star recorded several songs and was a composer for other artists

Pelé told CNN in 2015: If I hadn't been a soccer player, I would have been a musician 3:30

(CNN Spanish) --

"Music has always been part of my life, nothing like improvising on the guitar to brighten the day."

This is how the Brazilian soccer star, Pelé, saw one of his facets, perhaps a little unknown to some.

On his Instagram account, it was common to see posts by Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the former soccer player's first name, talking about music, asking his followers what their favorite albums were (while he posed in a black and white photo next to a record player ) or remembering, as in this

from September 2021, his friend Roberto Carlos, to whom he sent prayers on that occasion after the death of his son Dudu Braga.

The Brazilian music historian Rodrigo Teixeira tells Zona Pop CNN that Pelé's taste in music dates back to his childhood.

“Since he was little, Pelé has had a relationship with music.

His dad gave him a guitar when he was little.

He really liked to sing.

He was a composer... he played well, correctly.

He accompanied himself very well, ”said Teixeira.

Pelé and his passion for music

In 2015, Pelé told CNN in an interview that if he hadn't been a soccer player, he would have dedicated himself to composing music and singing.

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"I like to compose music, play the guitar, play the violin," Pele told CNN's Isa Soares.

And for the soccer legend, this facet was not a pending issue.

“During my playing career, I have always liked the world of artists,” Pelé said on Instagram in October 2020.

“I acted in television programs, and I had the honor of recording an album with Elis Regina and another with Sérgio Mendes.

I was an actor in soap operas and even in Hollywood.

And I always loved Brazil and I took Brazil with me everywhere.

These were amazing adventures.

I have always liked Brazilian music and culture”, said the former player.

And, although he was not a virtuoso singer, he came to sing his own songs, to collaborate with other artists and to compose for some of his friends.

The songs that

O Rei wrote

The singer Wilson Simonal was one of the artists who recorded a song composed by the Brazilian star.

It was "Gosto Tanto De Você" (I like you so much), released in 1968.

Pelé and Simonal's friendship was so great that the ex-soccer player took him to his land.

According to the historian Teixeira, Pelé had Simonal by his side during the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

“He (Simonal) stayed with the national team there (in Mexico) for 3 months.

Pelé had a very close, close relationship with the singer.

(Simonal) was kind of like an amulet for Pelé, he took it everywhere, ”Teixeira told Zona Pop CNN.

Amulet or not, the truth is that Pelé lifted his third World Cup in Mexico.

Also in 1968, another friend of the former soccer player, Jair Rodrigues, sang the song “Recado à criança” (Message to the children).

A year later, in 1969, Pelé released the EP "Tabelinha" (Little Table) together with the renowned Brazilian jazz singer Elis Regina.

For this production, the ex-soccer player wrote two songs, “Perdão, Não Tem” (I'm sorry, no) and “Vexamão” (Humiliation).

Eight years later, he worked together with the Brazilian composer and singer Sérgio Mendes for the album “Pelé”.

The production was the soundtrack of the French documentary film "Pelé", from 1977, about the life of

, directed by François Reichenbach.

For that film, the soccer star co-wrote the song “Meu Mundo É uma Bola” (My world is a ball), which was the main theme of the production.

It is also listed in the songwriting credits for “Cidade Grande” (Big City).

“The artists saw in him even a certain talent for music.

In Brazil, every soccer player is (in a certain way) a frustrated musician... it's like a general thing.

So, generally, there is a lot of music in the team gathering, behind the scenes”, says Teixeira.

Over the years, Pelé wrote songs for other singers, including children's groups.

Some of them were compiled on the album "Pelé Ginga" (2006).

In 2016, for the Olympic Games in Brazil, Pelé surprised his fans with the song “Esperança” (Hope), which he wrote and recorded especially for the summer games.

In 2020, Pelé and the duo Rodrigo y Gabriela released “Acredita No Véio” (Believe in the old), a reversal of the song that Pelé had previously released, and with this collaboration they celebrated the former soccer player's 80th birthday.

The day Pelé sang to Maradona

Although he also played the violin, the instrument that most accompanied Pelé during his life was the guitar.

In photographs that he posted on his verified Instagram account, Pelé recalls the moments he spent with this instrument over the years.

He was a faithful companion in his stage as a footballer and already in his retirement.

He liked

so much , as the Brazilian star was also known, that with guitar in hand, he starred in a moment that was kept in the minds of Argentines: he sang to another soccer star, Diego Armando Maradona.

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A post shared by Pelé (@pele)

This happened in 2005, during the program "La noche del 10" that Maradona presented on the El Trece channel in Argentina.

While Pelé played a few notes on a guitar, the Brazilian star told Maradona that he has a song about soccer fans.

“I have a (song) that talks about fans who always want to be idols.

And we want to have a quiet life, to be there… they want to be us and we want to be them”, explains Pelé when singing the song.

Songs inspired by the soccer legend

In some countries it is common to hear the names of soccer players in songs.

In Argentina the same was done with Maradona.

And in Brazil, what Pelé did for the

was an inspiration for some singers.

The ex-soccer player once recalls on Instagram that Tom Jobim dedicated a song to him, “Radamés e Pelé”.

“(Jobim) honored me in a posthumous album released three days after his death, with the song

.

Every time I listen to Tom's music I miss him", said Pelé in 2018.

Caetano Veloso was also amazed by the magic of the ex-soccer player.

In 1977 he released the song "Two Naira Fifty Kobo" where he names Pele.

“No mi coração da mata gritou Pelé, Pelé”, begins the song, part of the album “Bicho”.

A year later, in 1978, Veloso released the song "Love, love, love" inspired by a speech by Pelé in which he ended with the word love, Veloso explained in a tweet.

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