Erasmo Esteves was born in the neighbourhood of Tijuca in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Carlos knew Sebastião Rodrigues Maia (who would later be known as
Tim Maia) since childhood. Maia taught him his first chords on guitar. The year after that Arlênio decided to call Erasmo and two other friends from Tijuca, Robert and José Edson Trindade, known as "China", to form the vocal group The Snakes later renamed to The Boys of Rock. At the suggestion of
Carlos Imperial, the group was renamed The Snakes. They backed both Roberto and Tim Maia in their respective shows. Roberto Carlos needed the lyrics to the song "
Hound Dog," a hit by
Elvis Presley. Arlênio Livy told him Erasmo had the lyrics, as he was a big fan of Elvis. Roberto then discovered other affinities with Erasmo, as both of them liked
Bob Nelson,
James Dean,
Marlon Brando,
Marilyn Monroe, and cheering for
Vasco da Gama. Tim Maia taught Erasmo how to play guitar. Erasmo decided to adopt the name Carlos in his stage name, in honor of Roberto Carlos and Carlos Imperial. Before going solo, Erasmo was also part of the band
Renato e seus Blue Caps in 1962. Erasmo participated effectively with Roberto Carlos and Wanderléa in the
Jovem Guarda television show, where he had the nickname "Tremendão" (The Big Tremendous), imitating the clothes and style of his idol Elvis Presley. His greatest successes as a singer in this phase were "Gatinha manhosa" and "Festa de arromba." He had been rumored to become the main presenter of the program, but Roberto Carlos ended up taking the spot. Roberto and Erasmo, as songwriting partners, were criticized for singing and writing rock music and being thus "Americanized". As a response, "Coqueiro verde" was the first
samba-rock recorded by Erasmo. Although it was not Erasmo's first foray into a
samba derivative, in 1966,
Elza Soares recorded the
sambalanço "Toque o Balanço" (co-written by Roberto). == 1970s ==