Emilinha Borba

The queen of Brazilian crooners and star of airwaves and screen
Emilinha Borba, who has died of a heart attack aged 82, was the queen of Brazilian radio's golden era. Over four decades she cemented her position as one of the country's best-loved crooners, producing 117 records featuring more than 200 tracks, and exporting the Brazilian sound worldwide.

It was on the airwaves that Borba established herself. At the heart of her success was her ability to project herself as a singer of the people, a suburban santinha (saint) with her feet on the ground. She sang of day-to-day situations, carnival, heartbreak and, occasionally, politics, recording a version of Luiz Gonzaga and Humberto Teixeira's Paraíba in 1950. The disc deals with the hardships of life in the barren backlands of Paraíba state. In 1952 she married Artur de Souza Costa, a government minister, with whom she had a son.

Borba was inextricably linked to Mangueira, the samba school from the impoverished borough in northern Rio de Janeiro where she was born. She picked up her first prize aged 14 in 1937, at Rádio Cruzeiro do Sul, having sneaked out after telling her mother she was going to buy ice cream. Two years later, the legendary samba performer Carmen Miranda introduced the singer to the owner of the Urca casino, Joaquim Rolas, who signed Borba up to sing in his beachside club. That year she released her first record, João de Barro and Alberto Ribeiro's carnival march Pirulito (Lollypop). Subsequently she recorded sambas and marches and in 1944 began working for Rádio Nacional, where she would spend 27 years.

In 1953, she was voted the Rainha do Rádio (Radio Queen) but she featured in numerous musical chanchada movies, such as Banana da Terra (Earth Banana, 1939) and Não Adianta Chorar (There's No Point Crying, 1952).

Fame also brought controversy. Rivalry with fellow singer Marlene simmered throughout Borba's career, fuelled by feuding fans and the media. The pair recorded together several times, insisting they were friends, but Marlene's fans still refer scornfully to Borba as "a outra" (the other one) and vice-versa.

Her musical career ended in the late 1960s, when she underwent three operations on her vocal chords. In 2002 Borba returned to the studio, recording with other icons of Brazilian popular music, including Chico Buarque and Ney Matogrosso.

Borba is survived by her only son, Artur Virgílio.

· Emília (Emilinha) Savana da Silva Borba, singer, born August 31 1923; died October 3 2005

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