Astrud Gilberto Dies: Brazilian Singer Of Sultry ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ Bossa Nova Classic Was 83
deadline.comAstrud Gilberto, who was just 22 years old when her lovely, laid-back and sultry vocals on the jazzy bossa nova “The Girl from Ipanema” made the song a massive global hit and one of the most recognizable melodies of the 1960s, died Monday.
She was 83. Her death was announced to the media by a family friend, the musician Paul Ricci, who did not provide additional details.
Born in Salvador, Bahia and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Gilberto was virtually unknown to the wider public when she was recruited by producer Creed Taylor and her then-husband, guitarist Joao Gilberto, and saxophonist Stan Getz to lend her vocals on two songs for the album Getz/Gilberto.
The album, recorded in 1963, would have a huge impact on the popularization of bossa nova music, in no small measure due to of one of those songs featuring Astrud: “The Girl from Ipanema,” released as a single in 1964, sold more than five million copies and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
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