Astrud Gilberto, the acclaimed Brazilian singer best known for her track The Girl from Ipanema, has passed away. She was 83. The bossa nova singer died on June 6th, her granddaughter Sofia Gilberto confirmed.
Astrud was counted amongst Brazil’s biggest music stars in the 1960s and ’70s. She released 16 albums in her career and was credited with popularizing bossa nova around the globe. Read on to know more about her life and music career.
Astrud Gilberto Dies at 83
Sofia Gilberto, who is a musician herself, took to Instagram to share the news of her grandmother’s demise. “I’m here to bring you the sad news that my grandmother became a star today, and is next to my grandfather João Gilberto,” she wrote with a video featuring Astrud’s pictures.
“Astrud was the true girl who took bossa nova from Ipanema to the world,” she added. “She was a pioneer and the best. At the age of 22, she gave voice to the English version of ‘Girl from Ipanema’ and gained international fame.”
“The song, a bossa nova anthem, became the second most played in the world mainly because of her. I love and will love Astrud forever and she was the face and voice of bossa nova in most parts of the planet. Astrud will forever be in our hearts, and right now we have to celebrate Astrud,” Sofia added.
Gilberto’s The Girl From Ipanema Sold Over 5 Million Copies
Born in Bahia, Brazil in 1940, Astrud started taking an interest in music from an early age as her mother could play several instruments. She married guitarist João Gilberto in 1959. She started performing with her husband’s band and soon rose to fame for her ‘beguiling and whispery voice’.
In 1963, João collaborated with jazz legend Stan Getz for an album, and the two were looking for a singer to record the English lyrics for The Girl From Ipanema. Astrud volunteered for the task and the song became an international success. It sold over 5 million copies worldwide and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1965.
Astrud was not credited on the track; however, it launched her career as a successful vocalist. In the subsequent years, she went on to release several solo albums, including The Astrud Gilberto Album, The Shadow of Your Smile, Look to the Rainbow, Beach Samba and I Haven’t Got Anything Better to Do.
The Singer’s Last Album Came Out in 2002
By the 1970s, Astrud started writing her own songs and released the albums Astrud Gilberto Now and That Girl From Ipanema. She was honored with the Latin Jazz USA Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1992 and was also inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2002.
The same year, her last album, Jungle, was released. Over the years, the singer also had to face misogyny and sexism. She was reportedly only paid $120 as the standard session fee for The Girl From Ipanema.
In an interview, Astrud revealed how many people tried to claim responsibility for the success of the track, including Getz, who stated that he had rescued the singer from being a ‘housewife’. Talking about the struggle, she said, “I should feel flattered by the importance that they lend to this, but I can’t help but feel annoyed at the fact that they resorted to lying!”
May Astrud Gilberto’s soul rest in peace! Stay tuned for more news and updates.
