Astrud Gilberto – The girl from Ipanema died

Astrud Gilberto, one of the most famous Brazilian musicians, has passed away at the age of 83. The singer sang the “national anthem” bossa nova, “The Girl from Ipanema”.

Astrud Gilberto recorded 16 albums and two live recordings during her career that began in the 1960s. her version of “Girl from Ipanema” – Originally composed in 1962 by Zobim and Vinicius j Moraes– registered in English by itself under the title “Girl from Ipanema” On March 18, 1963.

The song became a worldwide hit, selling over five million copies worldwide and raising the profile of bossa nova music internationally.

the Paul RitchieThe New York guitarist who collaborated with Astrud Gilberto confirmed the news of her death in a Facebook post. “Just heard from her son, Marcelo, that we have lost Astrud Gilberto,” she wrote. “It has been an important part of Brazilian music in the world and has changed the lives of many people with its energy. RIP from ‘The Boss’, as he called me. Thank you AG.”

Posting on Instagram, Gilberto’s granddaughter Sofia also shared the news with her followers.

“My grandmother Astrud Gilberto wrote this song for me, Linda Sofia. She said she wanted me to be called Linda Sofia. Life is beautiful as the song says, but I’m here to give you the sad news that my grandmother is a star today and right next to my grandfather Joao Gilberto.” he wrote.

“Astrod was the real girl who brought the bossa nova from Ipanema into the world,” Write. She was leading and better. At the age of 22, she voiced the English version of “Girl from Ipanema” and gained worldwide fame.

The girl was from Ipanema, from another town…

Gilberto, who was born on March 29, 1940, was not actually from Ipanema. He was born in Salvador, Bahia, in northeastern Brazil, to a Brazilian mother and a German immigrant professor father. They named their daughter Astrud, after a goddess from Fritz’s homeland. Fritz Weinert taught languages ​​and Astrud grew up fluent in Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English.

“In my mid-teens, I was part of a group of young people who got into music.” This is how he met Joao Gilberto, who invented bossa nova. “We were married and I used to sing with him at home and we did some concerts in college,” she said in an interview.

Astrud Gilberto’s life changed forever in March 1963 when she accompanied Joao Gilberto to A&R Studios in Manhattan while he was recording the Getz/Gilberto album with famed saxophonist Stan Getz. They were about to create the best-selling jazz albums of all time, a record that turned millions of people into jazz and Brazilian rhythms.

Getz/Gilberto stayed on the top album charts for 96 weeks, and in 1965, won Grammy Awards in the categories of Album of the Year, Best Jazz Album, among others.

the “Girl from Ipanema” It also won a Grammy Award for Recording of the Year.

Gilberto participated in the Getz tours and they later divorced. As he said he “never looked back”. Her first solo gig with her own band took place in London in 1965 at a new club called The Cool Elephant. It was a trendy nightclub in Mayfair frequented by Princess Margaret, Dudley Moore, Peter Sellers and Brett Ekland.

One of the most popular recordings of her career was with George Michael, who admired her album With Last. A friend of hers said that Michael liked her songs, but at the time he didn’t know about the former Wham! She sent George Michael a Western Union telegram and he went to hear her sing at Madison Square Garden in New York. In 1996, they reconnected when George Michael asked her to sing on a charity record for AIDS research. They recorded a great version of it “tuneless” in London.