Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer who became famous worldwide for her recording of “The Girl from Ipanema,” died Monday. She was 83.
Musician Paul Ricci, a family friend, confirmed the news to the Associated Press. He did not reveal Gilberto’s cause of death.
Gilberto was a talented amateur singer but had never released a recording until she cut “The Girl from Ipanema” with her husband at the time, João Gilberto, and saxophonist Stan Getz.
The song had already been recorded in Portuguese, but the two men thought an English version could explode worldwide. There was one problem: Neither of them spoke English fluently.
One day in New York in 1963, Gilberto was invited to a recording studio by her husband, who promised, “Today there will be a surprise for you.”
“As they were in the midst of going over the song ‘The Girl from Ipanema,’ João casually asked me to join in, and sing a chorus in English, after he had just sung the first chorus in Portuguese. So, I did just that,” Gilberto said on her website.
“When we were finished performing the song, João turned to Stan, and said something like: ‘Tomorrow Astrud sing on record… what do you think?’ Stan was very receptive, in fact very enthusiastic; he said it was a great idea. The rest, of course, as one would say, ‘is history.’”
“The Girl from Ipanema” became a worldwide smash, and Gilberto became a household name almost overnight. The song reached No. 5 on the U.S. Top 100 charts and won the Grammy in 1965 for record of the year.
Born March 29, 1940, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, Gilberto was raised in a family of multilingual musicians. She grew up in Rio de Janeiro and later moved to New York City, where she met her future husband, to whom she was married from 1959 to 1964.
João Gilberto, known as the “Father of Bossa Nova,” was part of a group of Brazilian musicians and songwriters in the city, and Astrud Gilberto would often sing at their gatherings.
Following her life-changing recording of “The Girl from Ipanema,” Gilberto embarked on a successful music career. Her debut album, “The Astrud Gilberto Album,” was released in 1965 and also nominated for a Grammy.
Later in life, Gilberto grew tired of her worldwide fame and chose to keep her private life private. She gave her final interview in 2002 to a group of friends.
“My profound respect and love for my fans is expressed in the way I have always given the best of myself on stage, and on recordings,” she said. “My work, whether perceived as good, bad, or indifferent, speaks for itself.”