One of the founders of the Velha-Guarda (old guard) of the Império Serrano samba school, Nilton Campolino was one of the earliest members of Império Serrano and the last member alive of the Velha Guarda da Império Serrano. His compositions were recorded by the likes of Xangô da Mangueira (his partner on "Quem Fala Alto é Gogó"); Jorginho do Império and Zeca Pagodinho (who recorded several of his creations, such as "Yaô Cadê o Samba" on Mania da Gente, 1990, and "Minha Fama Ninguém Tira" on Pixote, 1991); "O Bicho que Deu" on Samba Pras Moças, 1995; "Colete Curto" on Deixa Clarear, 1996; and "Delegado Chico Palha" on Água da Minha Sede, 2000. In 1977, Campolino recorded with Aniceto do Império his first and only album, O Partido-Alto de Aniceto & Campolino. All these decades, he lived for his community, where his sambas are celebrated in the regular weekly get-togethers (and when he shone as a master improviser in the partido-alto style), while the general audiences ignored his work. In 2001, in an initiative to bring aging composers of samba to the public, Campolino performed at the Banco do Brasil cultural center in the show Os Meninos do Rio (the Boys From Rio), together with Ivone Lara, Nelson Sargento, Dauro do Salgueiro, Jair do Cavaquinho, Luiz Grande, Élton Medeiros, Monarco, Jurandir da Mangueira, Niltinho Tristeza, Aluízio Machado, and Baianinho, released on the CD Os Meninos do Rio.