He died at the age of 83 Astrud Gilberto, the bossa nova singer known for her recording of “The Girl From Ipanema.” The Brazilian musician recorded 16 albums and two live records during her career, which began in the 60s.

Her version of “Garota de Ipanema” – originally composed in 1962 by Zobim and Vinicius J. Moraes – was recorded in English by herself under the title “The Girl from Ipanema” on March 18, 1963. The song became a worldwide hit, selling more over five million copies worldwide and raised the profile of bossa nova music internationally.

Paul Ritchie, a New York-based guitarist who collaborated with Astrud Gilberto, confirmed the news of her death in a Facebook post. “I just heard from her son Marcelo that we lost Astrud Gilberto,” she wrote. “She was an important part of Brazilian music in the world and changed many lives with her energy. RIP from “Chief” as he used to call me. Thank you AG.”

Posting on Instagram, Gilberto’s granddaughter, Sofia, also shared the news with her followers. “My grandmother Astrud Gilberto wrote this song for me, Linda Sofia. She wanted me to be called Linda Sofia, she said. Life is beautiful, as the song says, but I’m here to give you the sad news that my grandmother became a star today and is next to my grandfather João Gilberto». He wrote. “Astrud was the real girl who brought bossa nova from Ipanema to the world” write down. “She was a pioneer and the best. At the age of 22 she voiced the English version of “Girl from Ipanema” and gained international fame“, he added.

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Gilberto, who was born on March 29, 1940, was not actually from Ipanema. He was born in Salvador, Bahia, in northeastern Brazil, to a Brazilian mother and an immigrant German professor father. They named their daughter Astrud, after a goddess from Fritz’s homeland. Fritz Weinert taught languages ​​and Astrud grew up fluent in Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English.

“In my mid-teens I was part of a group of young people involved in music.” That’s how he met João Gilberto, who invented bossa nova. “We were married and I was singing at home with him and we did a few gigs in collegeshe had said in an interview.

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The Life of Astrud Gilberto changed forever in March 1963 when she accompanied João Gilberto to A&R Studios in Manhattan while he recorded the Getz/Gilberto album with the famous jazz saxophonist Stan Getz. They were about to create one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, a record that turned millions of people on to Brazilian jazz and rhythms.

Getz/Gilberto remained on the best album charts for 96 weeks and, in 1965, won Grammy Awards in the categories of Album of the Year, Best Instrumental Jazz Album, among others. The “The Girl From Ipanema” also won a Grammy for Best Recording of the Year.

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Gilberto took part in Getz’s tours and they later parted ways. As he had said “he never looked back”. Her first solo gig with her own band took place in London in 1965 at a new club called The Cool Elephant. It was a trendy nightclub in Mayfair frequented by Princess Margaret and Dudley Moore, Peter Sellers and Britt Eckland.

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One of the most popular recordings of her career was with pop star George Michael, who had admired her album with Last. A friend of hers said that Michael was impressed with her songs, but at the time he knew nothing about the former member of Wham! She sent George Michael a Western Union telegram and he went to hear her sing at Madison Square Garden in New York. In 1996, they reconnected when George Michael asked her to sing on a charity record for AIDS research. They recorded a great version of ‘Desafinado’ in London.