Eric Clapton Encyclopedia

Da Costa, Paulinho

Da Costa, Paulinho

Entry published in Biographies - Other Musicians / Last modified on 26 August 2005

Paulinho Da Costa was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He discovered his love for percussion instruments at the age of 5 and by his early teens, he was in several bands. Playing over 72 different percussion instruments, he has carved a niche for himself in the worldwide music community as a percussionist. In addition to his four solo albums, he has scored music for well over one hundred films, television shows and commercials. As a much in demand session musician, he has worked with over three hundred different artists as diverse as Dizzy Gillespie, Doc Severinsen, Earth Wind & Fire, Ella Fitzgerald, George Benson, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, Jean Luc Ponti, Eric Carmen, Herb Alpert, Michael Sembello, Chicago, Prince, Paul Anka, Allen Toussaint, Dolly Parton, Kenny Loggins, Luis Miguel, Rosemary Clooney, Belinda Carlisle, Miles Davis, Willie Nelson, Marcus Miller, Stan Getz, Ricky Martin and Little River Band. Da Costa can be prominently heard on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita”, Lionel Ritchie’s “All Night Long” as well as “We Are The World.”