[1] Despite only having a seven-year run, the festival featured some of the most influential musicians in Brazilian music such as Os Mutantes, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, and Gilberto Gil.

[2] The festival functioned as propaganda tool for the dictatorship to promote Brazil overseas while conversely featuring protest songs that highlighted the political discontent within the country.

Lima was enthusiastic to help, as it would rival the Festival de Música Popular Brasileira [pt] hosted in São Paulo and bring tourism to Rio which was lacking attractions.

[7] Marzagão initially asked TV Globo, the largest network in South America, to be the broadcaster, but its executive, Walter Clark [pt], was hesitant to commit resources to such an expensive and new festival.

Unfortunately, the management teams for each opera hall were worried that a popular music festival would draw too large and ill-mannered a crowd compared to the normal attendees.

To choose the songs that would be performed and judged at the festival, a preliminary committee made up noted scholars and musicians– including César Guerra-Peixe, Marques Rebelo, and Lindolfo Gaya [pt]– was assembled.

The jury for the national phase was a twenty-three member panel made up of noted Carioca journalists, music critics, musicians, and scholars, chaired by musicologist Mozart de Araújo [pt].

[17] With the song "Frag Den Wind", written by Helmut Zacharias, lyricized by Carl J. Schauber, and performed by Inge Brück, Germany was declared the winner.

[20] This caused several artists to pull out of the festival, including songwriters Carolina Cardoso de Menezes [pt] and Tito Madi who would have benefited from the alterations.

[27][28] In third place for the national phase was "Carolina", written by Chico Buarque and performed by sisters Cynara and Cybele of Quarteto em Cy.

Buarque had only entered the competition under the condition that a fine he incurred from Walter Clark for breaching a contract earlier that year would be waived and was surprised to have placed so high.

The song (based on "Seche tes Larmes, Marie", a French folk tune) was another crowd favorite and was chosen by the jury for its unique structure that allowed the audience to sing along even during its debut performance.

In addition to better representing Paulista musicians, the concert would also help Globo pull viewers away from the rival Festival de Música Popular Brasileira [pt] hosted in the city by TV Record.

The temperament of the audience is retrospectively viewed as a reflection of the growing angst toward the increasingly censorial government alongside the perceived degradation of traditional Brazilian music due to American and British influences.

[35] In one example, tropicália pioneer Gilberto Gil was booed and disqualified after performing the "Questão de Ordem" (a Jimi Hendrix-inspired rock song) due to its supposed incendiary content.

[36][37] However, the crowd unruliness was best exemplified when Caetano Veloso and his backing band, Os Mutantes, were booed and pelted with food while performing their song "É Proibido Proibir" (lit.

The United States came in third with "Mary" written by Nelson Riddle, lyricized by Norman Gimbel, and performed by West Coast singer Michael Dees.

[53][54] This edition of the festival also marked its first broadcast in Europe, motivating the organizers to secure prominent performers, recognizing its potential to influence and improve deteriorating international relations.

The notable exception to this was "Gotham City [pt]" by Jards Macalé and José Carlos Capinan, which had managed to slip past the censors.

[61][62] It was so popular among the audience that they started to boo both Brazil and the United States after placements were announced, despite "Cantiga por Luciana" receiving such a positive response during the national phase.

Medley later stated that he believed "Cantiga por Luciana" deserved to win, commenting that it had the perfect balance between the popularity of "Love Is All" and the songwriting quality of "Evie".

In second place was "O amor é o meu país", written and performed by Ivan Lins and Ronaldo Monteiro de Souza [pt].

[81][82] The international phase was won by Argentina; Piero de Benedictus wrote and performed the ballad "Pedro Nadie" with the help of frequent collaborator and lyricist José Tcherkaski.

[85] Because of this, less than two weeks before the festival, twelve musicians pulled their entries and released a letter declaring that government censorship had made it impossible for them to participate.

Among the signees were Vinicius de Moraes, Paulinho da Viola, and Marcos Valle alongside past winners Guttemberg Guarabyra, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and Chico Buarque.

[89] In a rush, Globo filled the large number of missing entries with its unreleased material, using themes from upcoming telenovelas and whatever was currently being recorded for Som Livre.

Wanting to further publicize the discrimination of Afro-Brazilians after winning the last festival, Tony Tornado guest performed the song "Black is Beautiful" in a duet Elis Regina.

[98] The national phase was won by "Kyrie", a song written by budding songwriters Paulinho Soares and Marcelo Silva and bolstered with a backing orchestral arrangement by Leonardo Bruno.

The United States won with "Nobody Calls me Prophet" written and performed by David Clayton-Thomas and William Smith as part of the Sanctuary Band.

This group included Tony Tornado, Vinicius de Moraes, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Geraldo Vandré, Erlon Chaves, and Caetano Veloso, as all previously discussed.