He built a career as a singer and composer of sentimental, suffering songs, rising to popularity in Brazil and Latin America in 1969 and becoming known internationally, especially in Portugal, France and Spain.

In 1971 he released his first Spanish album, Canción Popular, and performed in the US, Latin America, Europe, and Africa.

[citation needed] He was the first Latin artist to sell a million records in the U.S. with his hit "Happy Birthday My Darling" in 1974.

[citation needed] Nelson Ned d'Ávila Pinto was born in 1947 in Ubá, Minas Gerais, the eldest of seven siblings.

[1] Nelson Ned died at age 66 from pneumonia and cardiac arrest at Hospital Regional de Cotia, in São Paulo on 5 January 2014.