Astrud Gilberto

About Astrud Gilberto

Astrud Gilberto was a Brazilian and American bossa nova and samba singer. She was the first wife of Brazilian bossa nova guitarist João Gilberto, whose surname she continued to use professionally after their divorce in 1964. She gained international attention in the mid-1960s following her vocal contribution to the song "The Girl from Ipanema" by João and American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz, which was awarded a Grammy in 1965. Astrud Gilberto went on to be a popular bossa nova singer in the United States and internationally, being particularly popular in Japan. Although the best-known part of her career was from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, she had a singing career spanning over 30 years before retiring following the release of her last album in 2002.

Accounts vary as to exactly how Astrud was selected as vocalist on "The Girl from Ipanema". It is generally agreed that João was unable to sing in English and Getz was not interested in performing the vocals. According to Astrud Gilberto's own account, João said that he had a "surprise" in store for her during the session that day, and later had her sing the English lyrics during the first day's rehearsal, after which Stan Getz enthusiastically concurred on having her sing on the recording. However, according to the account given by bossa nova historian Ruy Castro, the idea was Astrud's, with João at first being hesitant about it, but warmed up to the idea after hearing her sing the lyrics. Other accounts claim Getz or Taylor had the idea to have Astrud sing, sometimes with the added claim that they had "discovered" her. Once the song was recorded, Taylor and Getz found Astrud's accented and somewhat naive-sounding delivery to fit the theme of the song perfectly, with Getz dramatically telling Astrud, "This song is going to make you famous".

"The Girl From Ipanema" is considered one of the landmark recordings of the 20th century, which launched Astrud's decades-long singing career on a classic note.