Leandro & Leonardo

Leandro e Leonardo were a Brazilian sertanejo duo. The two brothers (third and fourth of eight siblings), Leandro (born Luiz José da Costa, August 15, 1961–June 23, 1998) and Leonardo (Emival Eterno da Costa, born July 25, 1963), were from Goianápolis. History The brothers were raised in a poor family in Brazil, and from a young age worked with their parents on tomato farms and did odd jobs such as shining shoes. Emival convinced his brother to move to the city, and the two practiced performing songs by Chitãozinho & Xororó, Roberto Carlos and The Beatles with Emival typically singing lead as Luiz sang harmonies and accompanied them on the guitar, then began playing locally in a group called Os Dominantes. After moving to Brasília, where they lived with their uncle Zé, who arranged work for Luiz as a salesman at a clothing store and for Emival at a pharmacy, while also booking gigs for them. When they began performing regularly as a duo it was as Leandro & Leonardo, the stage names being those also given to the twin boys recently born to the pharmacist Emival was working for. After a few years of local and regional performances, they were offered spots on local television stations, and their first album came out in 1983. However, it wasn't until 1989 that they began to hit big on the Brazilian charts, with their Vol. 3 release. The group became superstars in the early 1990s, selling several million copies of their albums and obtaining a weekly show on Brazilian television. Music by Leandro and Leonardo sold 17 million records. The album Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 4 sold 3.3 million records and is the best-selling Brazilian country music album of all time. Death of Leandro