I love old footage from when people didn't know what they were platforming. The Monks invented punk and they're just introduced as "oh hey here's a local band"
Astrud fits so well the role of the Girl from Ipanema, even though she's not actually the girl who inspired Tom and Vinicius. She was always this soft-spoken, youthful spirit who so gently reminded us of a time when we were also young and lovely.
The original Girl from Ipanema was a 16 year-old (Helô Pinheiro, not Astrid) who walked into a neighborhood bar, "Bar do Veloso" a bar in Ipanema that still exists today under a new name [1], to buy cigarrettes for her parents. The poet-witness, Vinicius de Moraes, noted with the lyrics the melancolic, winterish sadness of middle age by contemplating the chasm that now separated him from an full-of-life adolescent. In 1962, Vinicius was turning 50 soon and had been expressing his bohemian self in a darker note. He rewrote the lyrics of Girl from Ipanema a few times to "cheer it up" a notch, but the B section today preserves the core meaning of the original lyrics: Why am I so lonely / Why am I so sad. The 1st version of the lyrics can be found around the webs too: I was tired of everything / of so many paths / striped out of poetry.
Astrud on the other hand was a very naive young woman at that point in 1963. She was then married to nut-job, pot-head genius João Gilberto, who took her on tour to the US where she ended up in the famed Gilberto/Getz recordings. Astrud and Gilberto separated later that year (apparently he cheated on her). Stan Getz, Norman Gimbel (English lyrics) and Creed Taylor (producer) allegedly worked really hard to strip her, and every other Brazilian composer, away from any proceedings from the recordings, as they did with the of the English lyric recordings of Tom Jobim songs. With her steady-breath, no-vibrato vocal style (a Gilberto and Chet Baker staple) fragile and sweet-as-hell voice and slightly out-of-tune highs she became a definite icon of what modern meant 1960s.
While Astrud captured a beautiful english rendition of this song, the lure and enchantment of bossa and samba is lost quite easily to my ears when english vocals chime in. If you love this stuff and you want to branch out from well known Getz and Jobim, hear Paulinho Da Viola, Gabor Szabo, Novos Bainanos, Gilberto Gil, Maria Bethânia - you’ll find some of these in any classics loving brasileira’s vinyl crate.
I just think some of your recommendations, such as Novos Baianos, Gilberto Gil, and Maria Bethânia, aren't exactly bossa nova singers.
I’d recommend João Gilberto (who was married with Astrud) and Miúcha. Elis Regina has an astonished album recorded with Tom Jobim in 1974, “Elis & Tom”.
I urge others discover the samba (or pagode) genre. With a bit of Portuguese at A2 you'll love it.
This is a popular tradition of in company (in backyard -- hence the band name "Fundo do quintão"), and to me this is one of the last genres of music that you can sing together, a capella. They have melody and the text is just right for a human.
Rest in peace, Astrud, your simple songs were a gateway into samba and Portuguese to me. I remember hearing them on radio in the late 90s-early 00s, in some un-typical style, unheard to me, and I guess I'd not have been able to google any of these songs out. But then a program on jazz featured bossa nova and mentioned her name among others. I then learned Portuguese and left bossa nova and Gilberto for more elaborate styles and singers, but these still pull a nostalgic string.
I've got a friend who wrote about meeting Astrud Gilberto through contacts in the music business. As a teen he had a crush on her, I think everyone of a certain age certainly did.
Here's how he described her, "She was a 45-year-old woman, in an 18-year-old body, with a 14-year-old mind."
I've learned that in meeting an idol that you how you imagine someone might be is seldom how they really are in real life.
Astrud didn't originally want to be the Girl from Ipanema girl but I'm glad she was. Her vocals are enchanting.
For anyone who wants to know more than they ever wanted about The Girl from Ipanema, the literal most famous song on Earth, see this video by Adam Neely: https://youtu.be/OFWCbGzxofU
She got paid $120 for her voice work in Girl from Ipanema.
I think that may be the only money she ever saw from that. That is incredible, and the other guys who took credit for this song basically made a fortune off her.
Girl from Ipanema (Garota de Ipanema) was composed by Tom Jobim, one of the greatest Brazilian composers, and written by Vinícius de Moraes, one of the greatest Brazilian poets. João Gilberto, another one of our greatest musicians, also contributed to the song. It was recorded by different singers before the English version with Astrud was ever recorded, and the most famous version in Brazil by far is sung by Tom Jobim himself.
Astrud is actually not that well known in Brazil - she's much more famous abroad. I'm not sure who the "guys who took credit" are supposed to be but I never thought of Garota de Ipanema as being Astrud's song or anything like that. Not to say whatever happened to her wasn't unfair, of course, but her interpretation of the song is one among many. The song is Vinícius and Tom's.
They don't even play it the same (as it was originally recorded) in most westernized versions. What a great song and her voice is iconic, but if you haven't seen the musical key deconstruction and commentary by Adam Neely, it's worth a watch.
As he says, the way short phrases of Girl from Ipanema are used in American pop culture, "It's auditory shorthand for light frivolous background music". Even though it's anything, but that.
I knew most of those things, and I apologize for apparently suggesting that she deserved credit in lieu of those guys, because she did not. I was just suggesting that given how well the song did in English speaking countries AFTER her participation, $120 seems a travesty.
That doesn’t mean the performer who made the version that is known worldwide should not be rewarded properly by it. I am not sure the debate has took this turn. Because the music is known in Brazil with different performers, it attenuates the cheap payment she got for the English version.
The article states that she avoided performing in Brazil because she felt it didn’t treat her well. Taking from the Brazilians in this thread, it checks.
I'm Brazilian and have nothing against Astrud. The point however is that she's simply now well known in Brazil. She became famous as the singer for the English version of Girl from Ipanema. In Brazil this song has portuguese lyrics and is sung by other interpreters. That is, I imagine, why she wasn't as well received in Brazil as in the US and other countries.
The point is not that she wasn’t as famous in Brazil. The point is that she was paid only $120 after performing the version of the song that became famous worldwide.
Also, the article states that she consciously avoided performing in Brazil.
So what? at the time they payed her nobody knew it will be a huge hit, she was an unknown singer who got a chance to sing a song created by famous and talented creators of her home country. So they payed her a payday salary of a singer. She probably got payed more after that for live performances.
Is it fair that others capture all of the rewards of something she helped create?
What's wrong with a little bit of profit sharing?
Right now, writers in Hollywood are striking because the streaming medias treat them as mere day laborers, denying those writers the residuals they'd rightfully receive for the same work published by any other medium.
The reality is that even Tom Jobim didn't make much money from this song. He later said in an interview that the contract he signed gave most of the money to the American recording company and the writer of the English lyrics. He received only a small amount of the profits from this song.
> That doesn’t mean the performer who made the version...
She didn't make it. She sang a part of it. And it isn't as if they knew how successful this recording would become.
I'm not Brazilian, but I'm a fan of bossa nova. The way some people are talking in this thread as if the entire song was created by Astrud seems absurd. The position completely erases the work done by the men who pioneered bossa nova as a genre. Do you actually listen to this music? What do you do when listening to this album? Do you fast forward past the lengthy saxophone solos?
I am not one of those people saying Astrud is the main responsible for creating the song.
My position is that her contribution deserved a portion of the profits the song generate larger than $120. I think it’s fair that she should earn more directly from it, even acknowledging that the song kickstarted her great career and was the foundation of a lot of profits in the future.
I am not saying it was illegal or the $120 was paid on bad faith at the time of recording. I am saying that after the song becoming a worldwide hit, she deserved to earn more. It might not have been illegal for her to earn only $120, but it was unfair in my opinion.
I support any and all efforts to get our gini coefficient back down to 0.35 or lower. Worker-directed social enterprises, co-ops, trust busting, tax enforcement, universal healthcare, universal basic income, repeated radical cashectomies of the 1%, name & shame... Whatever works.
How things are viewed in Brazil might be one thing.
Worldwide? She's the one. Her version of the song is the song. Nobody outside Brazil has ever heard of anyone else. The producer who took all the money for her performance of it robbed her.
It's not "her" version of the song, it's just a version that she sung (some) of the lyrics on. She didn't compose the song, she isn't performing it a capella (there's a band including some famous musicians like Stan Getz or Tom Jobim), she didn't compose or translate the lyrics, she didn't compose the sung part. She certainly isn't singing the saxophone solo. It's absurd to attribute the success of the song solely to her. Should she have gotten more? Absolutely! But she's ultimately just a minor part of the song.
It's not "nobody" because I've never been to South America, but I know the song well, sung by various male performers, or just the tune without a singer, and I'd never heard of Astrud Gilberto.
I don't think that "session musicians" should have an automatic right to royalties.
No. It was their song, they deserve the bulk of the credit for it. It was already a hit performed and written in Portuguese before the English version came out. She happened to be in the studio as the wife of one of the musicians when they decided to do an English version, and she was the only one who could speak English among the women there. America was ready for Bossa Nova and the song would have been a hit regardless of who raised their hand that day.
Plus, her entire career was launched with that song.
How much money was there from the album sales even? If a bulk of the remuneration comes from touring like it does today, it's not clear to me how they could even compensate her beyond what she was "given" by becoming a huge star due to the album.
I guess it would be nice to think that everyone involved in something successful becomes fabulously wealthy due to it, even regardless of their original deal, but shouldn't it go the other way too then? If the album flopped, would it be okay if they demanded she give back the $120?
edit: Editing to say, I don't mean this in a condescending way, or that this person's passing is irrelevant. I more precisely mean to say that I don't understand how this content is topical to this forum.
If you are a good music nerd, then you know that bossa nova is the bomb and the absolute best thing out there. From there you know about Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben Jor, Astrud Gilberto and all the other giants from Brazil and that came about during that era.
As such this is a depth first hit on bossa nova which every nerd worth its salt should appreciate.
Top 10s are always tough, but I'll give it a shot. I have a penchant for the obscure, but if I were to consider total output, my list would be (I know I'm leaving some out)...
- Arthur Verocai (anything he arranged)
- Joyce Moreno
- Jorge Ben
- Milton Nascimento
- Edu Lobo
- Nara Leao
- Elis Regina
- Marcos Valle
- Gal Costa
- Joao Donato
And a bonus top 5 groups
- Tamba Trio
- Novos Baianos
- Azymuth
- Quarteto Em Cy
- Dom Salvador's groups (Rio 65, Salvador Trio, etc.)
For a deep dive into the obscure stuff, I used to do a podcast from my collection. Lots here to keep anyone busy.
While I love your enthusiasm for bossa nova there are probably better ways to share it with the others. Your argument is circular and starts with a dubious assumption. Thanks for the links though!
Bossa nova is some of my favorite music to listen to while working. It's mellow, soothing, but never boring. Also, being in a foreign language helps minimize distraction. RIP
I think it's because she is important for some of the folks here and they'd like to know about it. From the number of points & comments, I don't think it's really off-topic:
> edit: Editing to say, I don't mean this in a condescending way, or that this person's passing is irrelevant. I more precisely mean to say that I don't understand how this content is topical to this forum.
You're totally right but people can mourn here about those who have passed on if they want to and they are free to do so. Whether if a black bar will appear for this individual or if this post is allowed on the front page is another question.
However at this point, the guidelines on this orange site are not fit for purpose anyway. Not even the moderators here follow it and add 'exceptions' to the rule from time to time.
