- Considered one of Brazil's greatest composers.
- Good friend of writer Jorge Amado.
- Son of Durval Henrique Caymmi and Aurelina Soares.
- Wife Adelaide is a singer. She uses the name Stella Maris.
- His 1939 hit song "O que E que a Baiana Tem?" ("What Does the Bahiana Have?") helped bring singer Carmen Miranda to the attention of a Hollywood producer, launching her movie career.
- He composed over 100 songs and recorded nearly 20 albums. Many of his songs are about Bahia or the lives of working-class people.
- His musical style was based on Afro-Brazilian rhythms and the indigenous folk music of his birthplace, Bahia, in northeastern Brazil.
- He was a reporter with a Bahian newspaper before moving to Rio de Janeiro in 1937.
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