Saturday, August 18, 2012

50th Anniversary of "Garota da Ipanema"

The original "Garota da Ipanema,"
Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto
While the famous song "The Girl from Ipanema" didn't become an international hit until it was recorded by Astrud Gilberto in 1964, it was written 50 years ago in the summer of 1962 by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes. 

 Originally written for a Brazilian musical, it was first recorded in Portuguese by singer Pery Ribeiro.  

Astrud Gilberto was an untrained singer at the time she made the recording in 1963. João Gilberto and Tom Jobim were making a record with Stan Getz in New York City, and they wanted to record "The Girl from Ipanema" in English. 

Astrud Gilberto
Astrud was the only one of the Brazilians present at the session who spoke English well enough to sing the song. Astrud sang with an innocence that made her sound almost nonchalant, which suited the lyrics perfectly. 

The cover of "Getz/Gilberto." 
Notice that while Jobim receives credit on the front, Astrud does not.
The album "Getz/Gilberto" has two versions of the song: one that's over 5 minutes long and has both João and Astrud singing alternating passages, and a second version that was issued as a 45rpm, and features mostly Astrud singing, with João doing back-up vocals. The single won the Grammy for "Record of the Year" in 1965, and the album won three Grammy awards, including "Best Album of the Year."

"The Girl from Ipanema" became a huge hit, and is the second-most recorded popular song in history, surpassed only by the Beatles' "Yesterday." Astrud moved to the US, where she went on to establish a singing career on her own, divorced João, and had an affair with Stan Getz.

You can read more about the song's history here: 





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