
I got the news this morning that Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, who sang the hit song "The Girl From Ipanema," passed away yesterday at the age of 83.
In 1963, saxophonist Stan Getz was working on an album with Brazilian guitarist and singer João Gilberto and performer and songwriter Antônio Carlos Jobim, which became the 1964 album Getz/Gilberto. When they did "The Girl From Ipanema," Glberto suggested that his wife Astrud sing the English version of the song. While she knew English, she had never sung professionally, but she sang it anyway. (I had always heard that she didn’t know English and learned it phonetically. Shows what I know.) The song went on to reach #1 on the easy Listening chart and #5 on the Hot 100, ws a hit around the world, and earned the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1965.
Another song from that album that she sang was "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)."
Astrud Gilberto was a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice. Que ela descanse em paz.