Girl From Ipanema singer Astrud Gilberto dies aged 83
Girl From Ipanema singer Astrud Gilberto has died aged 83.
Gilberto’s son Marcelo confirmed to The Independent that she died on June 5. The cause of his death has not been revealed.
Composer Antonio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese poet Vinicius de Moraes wrote The Girl From Ipanema in 1962.
It wasn’t until 1964 that English lyrics written by American Norman Gimbel propelled the song to international fame and made it one of the most recorded songs in the world.
Astrud Gilberto sang the English words on the 1963 Getz/Gilberto album during her first professional gig.
The singer has recorded 16 studio albums during her career.
Astrud Gilberto, singer of The Girl From Ipanema, dies aged 83
Born Astrud Evangelina Weinert in Salvador, Bahia on March 29, 1940, Gilberto never sought to sing for a living.
Her vocals on The Girl from Ipanema happened by accident.
American saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto first recorded the English version of the song inspired by Jobim and Moraes’ longing for Heloísa Pinheiro – a Rio native who walked daily outside Veloso Bar in Brazil .
Astrud offered to sing on the English version of the track after going to the studio to watch her then husband João
A&R engineer Phil Ramone recalled to JazzWax in 2010, “Astrud was in the control room when Norm came in with the English lyrics. Producer Creed Taylor said he wanted the song done right away and looked around the room.
“Astrud volunteered, saying she could sing in English. Creed said, “Awesome.” Astrud wasn’t a professional singer, but she was the only casualty sitting there that night.
The track has sold over five million copies worldwide, while bossa nova music quickly gained worldwide recognition. The song won a Grammy for Song of the Year while Gilberto earned himself a nomination for Best Vocal Performance.
