Astrud Gilberto, singer of The Girl from Ipanema, dead at 83

Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer, songwriter and entertainer whose off-hand, English-language cameo on The Girl from Ipanema made her a worldwide voice of bossa nova, has died at age 83.

Musician Paul Ricci, a family friend, confirmed that she had died. He did not provide additional details.

Born in Salvador, Bahia and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Gilberto became an overnight, unexpected superstar in 1964, thanks to knowing just enough English to be recruited by the makers of Getz/Gilberto, the classic bossa nova album featuring saxophonist Stan Getz and her then-husband, singer-songwriter-guitarist João Gilberto.

The Girl from Ipanema, the wistful ballad written by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, was already a hit in South America. But Getz/Gilberto producer Creed Taylor and others thought they could expand the record’s appeal by including both Portuguese and English language vocals.

In a 2002 interview with friends posted on her web site. Astrud Gilberto remembered her husband saying he had a surprise for her at the recording studio.

“I begged him to tell me what it was, but he adamantly refused, and would just say: ‘Wait and see ...’ Later on, while rehearsing with Stan, as they were in the midst of going over the song The Girl from Ipanema, Joao casually asked me to join in, and sing a chorus in English, after he had just sung the first chorus in Portuguese. So, I did just that,” she explained.

“When we were finished performing the song, Joao turned to Stan, and said something like: ‘Tomorrow Astrud sing on record… What do you think?’ Stan was very receptive, in fact very enthusiastic; he said it was a great idea. The rest, of course, as one would say, ‘is history.’”

Astrud Gilberto sings The Girl from Ipanema in a light, affectless style that influenced Sade and Suzanne Vega among others, as if she had already moved on to other matters. But her words, translated from the Portuguese by Norman Gimbel, would be remembered like few others from the era.