Astrud Gilberto, ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ and Bossa Nova Singer, Dead at 83

The Brazilian singer’s granddaughter Sofia confirmed the news on Instagram on Monday

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Astrud Gilberto

Astrud Gilberto, the singer who made ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ a worldwide hit, has died aged 83.

The musician’s granddaughter, Sofia Gilberto, announced the news of his death on Instagram on Monday, but did not provide further details.

“My grandmother Astrud Gilberto made this song for me, her name is Linda Sofia,” Sofia wrote in Portuguese. “She even wanted me to be called Linda Sofia.”

“Life is good, as the song says, but I’m here to tell you the sad news that my grandmother became a star today,” she added. “[She] is next to my grandfather João Gilberto. Astrud was the real girl who brought Ipanema bossa nova to the world.”

Friend and frequent collaborator Paul Ricci also shared the news on Facebook.

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Astrud Gilberto

“I just learned from his son Marcelo that we have lost Astrud Gilberto. He has asked for this to be published,” he wrote. “She was an important part of ALL Brazilian music in the world and she changed many lives with her energy. RIP from the ‘leader’ as she called me. Thank you AG.”

Astrud was born in 1940 in Bahia, Brazil and grew up in Rio de Janeiro. She then married musician João Gilberto in 1959.

In 1963, her singing career took a boost when she traveled to New York with her husband for a recording session with Stan Getz and fellow Brazilian bossa nova star Antônio Carlos Jobim.

The session producer wanted someone who could speak English to help “The Girl from Ipanema” reach American audiences, and Astrud – who had no prior recording experience – was the only person who could speak the language. and volunteered.

“Astrud was in the control room when Norm came in with the English lyrics,” session supervisor Phil Ramone told JazzWax in 2010. “Producer Creed Taylor said he wanted the song done right away. afterwards and looked around.”

He explained, “Astrud volunteered, saying she could sing in English. Creed said, ‘Great.’ Astrud wasn’t a professional singer, but she was the only casualty sitting there that night. .”

The original version of the song was a duet with her husband and she was uncredited on the track – although it was later reissued without her Portuguese vocals as a solo single and it became a sensation. The song ended up winning the Grammy for Song of the Year and Astrud was nominated for Best Vocal Performance by a Female.

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That same year, she divorced João and toured the country with Stan Getz and his band.

When the song became a hit, Getz and producer Creed Taylor described Astrud as a housewife they had discovered, which angered her.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” she wrote on her website. “I guess they may seem ‘important’ to have been the ones who had the ‘wisdom’ to recognize talent or ‘potential’ in my singing… I guess I should feel flattered by the importance they give to it, but I can’t help feeling annoyed that they resorted to lying!”

‘The Girl from Ipanema’ was her only big hit – although she released a string of jazz albums like 1965 Astrud Gilberto’s album1972 Astrud Gilberto Now and 1977 That girl from Ipanema.

In the 1980s, she formed a band with her son Marcelo on bass and toured the world. However, she avoided Brazil because she felt she was not duly recognized there.

She recorded her last album in 2002 titled Jungle and later announced an indefinite hiatus from public performances. The same year, she was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. In 2008, she received a lifetime achievement award from the Latin Grammys.

She devoted most of her later years to campaigning against animal cruelty, although the legacy of “The Girl from Ipanema” has survived.

Besides Marcelo Gilberto, her son from her first marriage, Astrud is survived by another son, Gregory Lasorsa, from her second marriage to Nicholas Lasorsa, which ended in divorce,

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