Born in Irará, Bahia, in 1936, Tom Zé had already studied composition at the University of Bahia and composed songs of a satirical and political nature when he took part in the show "Nós, por exemplo" (Us, for example). Then in 1967-68, in São Paulo, his critical-ironic vein would be a fundamental contribution to the tropicalist movement, headed by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. It was at this time that he became popular with "São São Paulo, meu amor" (Saint São Paulo, my love) and " 2001", his biggest successes next to "Se o caso é chorar" (If the case is to cry) dating from 1972.

Maintaining an experimental line of creation, Tom Zé ended up ostracized in the 70's and 80's. In 1990 he was discovered by David Byrne. The ex-leader of the Talking Heads then released a compilation of his songs and in 1992 a new record, "The hips of tradition". From then on his work is being recognized abroad.