Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, born Astrud Evangelina Weinert and one of the great bossa nova interpreters, died on Monday (June 5) at the age of 83. Her bemused version of “The Girl From Ipamena” became the best-known of the much-covered Brazilian song.
Paul Ricci, who has worked with Gilberto, confirmed the news on social media. “She was an important part of ALL Brazilian music in the world and she changed many lives with her energy,” he said.
Born in 1940 in the Brazilian state of Bahia as the daughter of a teacher and a German emigrant and grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Astrud Weinert married the musician João Gilberto in 1959, who was already a big name in the bossa nova scene at the time. A trip to New York was a twist of fate for both of them, because there they worked with jazz musician Stan Getz and Brazilian bossa nova representative Antônio Carlos Jobim on a recording that caused a sensation far beyond the genre.
At the time, the producer wanted an English-speaking singer to help popularize The Girl From Ipanema in the United States. Astrud, who had never put any song on disc before, ended up being the only one who spoke English. In fact, she was only there by chance in the studio – and later found out that her commitment didn’t pay off for her at first. Because the original version was a duet with her husband, she only received a small fee as a studio musician. Her name was not mentioned for the recording and she was barred from royalties.
In 1964 Astrud Gilberto sang it again solo and it actually became a real hit, reaching Top 5 in the US and Top 30 in the UK. He won the Grammy for Song of the Year, Gilberto was also nominated for Singer.
That year she also divorced João Gilberto and toured the USA with Getz and his band. Not an easy experience for the musician, who has been living as a single mother since then, as she later repeatedly said in interviews.
Gilberto released a number of albums of bossa nova songs and covers. Already on their debut “The Astrud Gilberto Album” from 1965 mainly foreign compositions were included. At the latest with “Now” (1972) she also established herself as a songwriter, but only released records at very irregular intervals. In 1977 she had another big hit with the song that made her famous – “The Girl From Ipamena” was released as a disco version. Later career highlights include her collaboration with James Last (“Plus,” 1987) and her 1996 duet “Desafinado” with George Michael.
In recent years, the multi-talented Gilberto has devoted herself primarily to painting. She was also known for her commitment to animal rights. In her lifetime, Astrud Gilberto performed at only one concert in her native Brazil (Sao Paolo, 1965).