Astrud Gilberto has died. One of the musical styles that defined my generation was bossa nova. The most famous song in that style is The Girl from Ipanema. The song was written by Joao Gilberto, who is considered the father of bossa nova. Astrud was his wife.
The Girl from Ipanema is sung by Astrud, a girl who is not a professional singer. How did this happen? On the day the song was recorded, the intended singer didn't show up and Joao asked Astrud to have a go at it. The result is epic because the song benefits enormously from her innocent, ordinary, non-flashy singing.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/brazilian-astrud-gilberto-sang-girl-ipanema-dead-83-rcna87910
@shuttersparks
"And when she passes,
each one she passes goes, “Aaah…”
@shuttersparks
I picked up a copy of "The Astrud Gilberto Album" years ago, sparked by Basia's tribute song "Astrud". It's a really sweet album.
@shuttersparks Here's a link to a recording of her classic performance, in case anyone is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5QfXjsoNe4