Astrud Gilberto

Mention the name Gilberto and Bossa Nova immediately comes to mind. Astrud was the original 'Girl from Ipanema' (composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes), famously singing the iconic hit song first featured on the classic 1963 album Getz/Gilberto. Released by Verve Records as a single in May 1964, Girl from Ipanema won a Grammy and established Astrud as a hot new commodity on the music scene. She also sang a second number on the album: 'Corcovado' ("Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars"). She was born Astrud Evangelina Weinert in Salvador, in the province of Bahia. Her mother was Evangelina Neves Lobo Weinert who sang and played both violin and a traditional instrument, called a bandolim. Her German-born father Fritz was a language teacher. Through him, Astrud soon became fluent in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese. In 1959,19-year old Astrud married the guitarist, vocalist and composer João Gilberto, who is credited as the inventor of Bossa Nova, a music genre fus