John F. Kennedy had just been assassinated, and to get through the Depression that followed, America needed more than that beatles, who invaded there with their frenetic merriment in early 1964. Only the bossa nova helped. And Astrud Gilberto. Saxophonist Stan Getz had befriended guitarist João Gilberto and bossa nova in Brazil and brought them both to New York. More importantly, Gilberto brought his wife Astrud with him. She was born in 1940 in the Brazilian state of Bahia as the daughter of a teacher and a German emigrant and, unlike her husband, could at least speak a little English. In a Portuguese-English dialogue, they recorded “Garota de Ipanema” together. However, the single (the B-side is a chilling version of Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind”), released in March 1964, had to be cut, and Astrud Gilberto sang about the girl alone the bohemian district of Ipanema, which is young and pretty and tanned, regularly walks by the bar and elicits that suppressed “Aaaah” from the men. So this recording was more of a coincidence that changed her life.
Obituary for bossa nova singer Astrud Gilberto – Culture
