NEW YORK – Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer-songwriter and entertainer whose impromptu English-language cameo on The Girl from Ipanema made her a global bossa nova voice, has died at the age of 83.
Musician Paul Ricci, a family friend, confirmed that she died on Monday. He did not give any further details.
Born in Salvador, Bahia and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Gilberto became an unexpected overnight superstar in 1964, speaking just enough English to be hailed by the creators of Getz/Gilberto, the classic bossa nova album featuring the saxophonist Stan Getz, and her then-husband, singer-songwriter-guitarist João Gilberto.
“The Girl from Ipanema,” the wistful ballad penned by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, has already been a hit in South America. But Getz/Gilberto producer Creed Taylor and others thought they could boost the record’s appeal by including both Portuguese and English-language vocals. In a 2002 interview with friends published on their website www.astrudgilberto.comAstrud Gilberto recalled her husband saying he had a surprise in store for her in the recording studio.
“I begged him to tell me what it was, but he adamantly refused, just saying, ‘Wait…’ Later, during rehearsals with Stan, just as they were going through the song ‘The Girl.’ from Ipanema’, Joao casually asked me to join in and sing a chorus in English after he had just sung the first chorus in Portuguese. So that’s exactly what I did,” she explained.
“When we were done performing the song, Joao turned to Stan and said something like, ‘Tomorrow Astrud is singing on record… What do you think?’ Stan was very open-minded, even very enthusiastic; He said it was a great idea. The rest, of course, is, as one would say, ‘history’.”
Astrud Gilberto sings “The Girl from Ipanema” in a light, emotionless style that influenced Sade and Suzanne Vega, among others, as if she had already turned to other subjects. But her words, translated from Portuguese by Norman Gimbel, would be remembered like few from that era.
Tall and brown and young and pretty
The girl from Ipanema goes for a walk
And when it’s over
Everyone she passes says, “Ah”
“Getz/Gilberto” sold more than 2 million copies and “The Girl from Ipanema”, released as a single with Astrud Gilberto as sole vocalist, became the absolute standard, often ranking right behind “Yesterday” as the most covered song in the world classified modern times. “The Girl from Ipanema” won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965, and Gilberto received nominations for Best New Artist and Best Vocal Performance. The poised, dark-haired singer was so closely associated with ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ that some assumed she was the inspiration; de Moraes wrote the lyrics about a Brazilian teenager, Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto.
Over the next few years, Gilberto toured with Getz, among others, and released eight albums (with songs in English and Portuguese), including The Astrud Gilberto Album, Beach Samba, and The Shadow of Your Smile. But after 1969, she only made seven more albums, and in 2002 she practically retired from the business, giving up interviews and dedicating her final years to animal rights activism and a career in the visual arts. She would claim that she was not paid for The Girl From Ipanema and that Taylor and Getz (who would describe her as “just a housewife”) would unduly boast of “discovering” her. She also felt alienated from her home country, claiming she had been dismissively treated by the press and seldom appeared there after becoming a star.
“Isn’t there an old saying that goes, ‘No one is a prophet in his own country?'” she said in 2002. “I have no qualms about Brazilians and I really enjoy going to Brazil.” Of course I go there as an incognito visitor and not as a performer.”
Astrud Weinert was the youngest of three sisters and came from a family that was both musical and foreign language: her mother was a singer and violinist, her father a linguistics professor. As a teenager, she belonged to a circle of musical friends and had met João Gilberto, a rising star in Rio’s burgeoning bossa nova scene.
After meeting him, “the clan grew larger and included ‘older’ people” like Tom Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Bené Nunes, Luis Bonfá and João Donato, as well as other “other halves” from each, she recalled. (João Gilberto) and I always sang duets, or he accompanied me on the guitar. Friends always asked me to sing at these gatherings, but also at our house when they came to visit.”
She was married twice and had two sons, João Marcelo Gilberto and Gregory Lasorsa, both of whom would work with her. Remaining a popular live act long past their commercial peak, their vocals grew warmer and jazzier as they sang covers as well as original material. She’s also had some notable moments as a recording artist, whether it was backing trumpeter Chet Baker on “Fly Me to the Moon” or singing with George Michael on the bossa nova standard “Desafinado.” In 2008 she received a Latin Grammy for lifetime achievement.
“Occasionally I’ve been called a ‘hermit’ by a frustrated journalist. The dictionary clearly defines hermit as “a person who withdraws from the world to live in seclusion and often solitude”. Why would anyone assume an artist is a recluse just because he doesn’t give interviews?” she said in 2002.
“I firmly believe that any artist whose work makes it famous – be it music, motion pictures or otherwise – has no moral obligation to satisfy the curiosity of journalists, fans or any other member of the public about their private life, anything else which has no direct relation to her work. My work, whether perceived as good, bad or indifferent, speaks for itself.”
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