Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, best known for his vocals on “The Girl from Ipanema”, the famous English version of the Brazilian bossa nova song “Garota de Ipanema”, written by composer Antonio Carlos Jobim with lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes..
Astrud Gilberto was born in 1940 in Salvador de Bahia as Astrud Evangelina Weinert, which she changed after her marriage to the famous singer and guitarist João Gilberto. In 1963 she accompanied her husband to New York, in the United States, where the latter was to make a record with the American saxophonist Stan Getz: during the recording, producer Creed Taylor suggested making a version of “Garuta de Ipanema” sung partly in Brazilian and partly in English , with the goal of making it known to American audiences as well. Taylor had João Gilberto sing the Brazilian parts and the English parts for his wife Astrud, who had no singing experience but was the only one in the recording studio who knew English well.
The song was recorded with the English title “The Girl from Ipanema” and initially included on the 1964 disc Getz / Gilbert, but later a 45 rpm version was released in which the Brazilian parts were cut and only the English version sung by Astrud Gilberto remained. The song became a hit in the US and Astrud Gilberto has since embarked on a successful career in the music business. He divorced after a few months and in 1965 he recorded his first solo record. In the following years he moved to the United States, where he worked with many important musicians such as Quincy Jones, Gil Evans and Chet Baker. “The Girl from Ipanema” remains among the most frequently performed jazz standards in the world today.
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