The Girl from Ipanema" recalls so much loungey, easy-listening kitsch, but that's not the fault of Bossa Nova's history-making song and certainly not Astrud Gilberto, who wasn't even supposed to sing it.
A playlist of this and other songs relevant to the episode can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3sF2lmLbhbwrq98noI40Me?si=cc58aee82d8d44e6
You can read The Best Song Ever (This Week) for free at bestsong.substack.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A playlist of this and other songs relevant to the episode can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3sF2lmLbhbwrq98noI40Me?si=cc58aee82d8d44e6
You can read The Best Song Ever (This Week) for free at bestsong.substack.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
The Shark Deck. On the passingof Astra Gilberto. At eighty three,
we revisit this episode of the BestSong Ever. This week, The Girl
from Ipanema recalls so much loungy,easy listening kitch, but that's not the
fault of Bassanova's history making song,and certainly not the wonderful Astra Gilberto,
(00:23):
who wasn't even supposed to sing it. Hello and welcome to the best Song
Ever this week. A short deepdive into a song and what makes it
special? The best song Ever thisweek This week is The Girl from Ipanema
by Stangatz ChIL Jilberto aster Gilberto andAntonio Carlos Jobine. I'm Scott Frampton.
(00:54):
Any's snoring you may hear is bymy cat Martin. Really like to play
the song for you at some point, but I don't have the rights to
it. That wouldn't be fair tothe people who do. There's a full
playlist in the show notes of thisand other songs in the neighborhood of this
episode where you can have a listen. So let's begin. How you hear
(01:17):
The Girl from Ipanema says a lotabout where you're from. American versions the
one that made the song and elevatormusic cliche of easy listening. Kitch are
in the key of F. Anymusician in Brazil, which named the mascots
for the twenty sixteen Summer Olympics Venetiusand Tom after its songwriters will tell you
that that version of the song soundsfake. Fake books, cheat sheets with
(01:41):
rough outlines of songs that allowed musiciansto fake their way through standards and show
tunes, first proliferated in the nineteenforties. These unlicensed songbooks also contained traditional
jazz tunes, but wouldn't be ofmuch help for modern jazz gigs that required
a working knowledge of bebop and theevolutions that followed. As a result,
some enterprising students at Boston's Berkeley Collegeof Music started assembling their own songbooks in
(02:07):
the early nineteen seventies, transcribing recordedsongs and cheekily titling the unlicensed illegal volumes
the real book. Their version putsGirl from met Panima in the key of
F. Brazilian musicians all know thesong should be in D flat. The
Girl from met Panima became an internationalsensation thanks to Astra Joberto. She wasn't
(02:29):
meant to sing on the sessions withher husband Jollan Antonio Carlos tom Jobim were
cutting in New York with jazz saxophonistDan Getz, but new English lyrics have
been commissioned for the song, andher command of the language was the strongest
of the Brazilians in the studio.The shortened version of the song and the
gets Gioberto album in the Key ofD Flat would be a top five US
(02:51):
pop hit in nineteen sixty four,introducing Basanova to state side audiences. The
song was such a sensation in Brazilthat the inspiration for the song, the
titular girl, as seventeen year oldnamed Halo Pinhero, would become famous in
her own right. Jojoberto is knownas the father of Bossanova, which translates
from the Portuguese as roughly new wave. Bosonova incorporated jazz and Tinpanali's songwriting into
(03:17):
samba, the Afro Brazilian music thatremains a national symbol of Brazil. This
was not always a welcome development.Adulterating samba with these American influence was initially
seen as whitewashing this essential element ofBrazilian culture. This is why changing the
key of the Girl from Metpanima intothe one in which Frank Sinatra sang Summer
(03:38):
Wind really rankles. It's like theBrazilian culture from which it came had been
stripped out, so that nothing remainsbut a tourist fantasy of beaches and beautiful
locals. The Portuguese lyrics to TheGirl from Mepanima were written by Venetius de
Moriius, a poet and playwright bestknown for the film Black Orpheus, which
(03:58):
sets the story of FEUs and Eurydicein the favelas of Rayo de Janeiro during
Carnival. The film won the canPalmdor in nineteen fifty nine and the Oscar
for Best Foreign Film the next year. The soundtrack, written by Joviem and
featuring Joel Roberto, popularized their jazziertakes on samba to American musicians. Like
Debts. Like the original music,Marias's lyrics are far more complex than most
(04:24):
English speaking audiences would hear. Itis indeed a song about watching a girl,
but Marias's lyrics are laden with whathe called the gift of life.
In its beautiful and melancholic, consistenteb and flow. It's a scene drawn
from his own life, where heobserved a seventeen year old pinhero as she
would pass by the Veloso Bar cafeon daily walks through the neighborhood, sometimes
(04:46):
stopping in to buy cigarettes for hermother. Norman Gimbal's English lyrics do a
fair job of relating a sense oflonging, but smoothed out American versions of
the song miss lyrics like oh whyam I so alone that make the song
not just about a pretty girl whopasses by, but youth itself. Sinatra,
(05:08):
to his credit, ends his versionwithout Joe Bim on their Francis Albert
Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim album withShe Doesn't See Me. The Real Book
was written for trained jazz musicians bymusicians being trained to play jazz, and
emphasize chords around which musicians would knowthe good notes to play in an improvisation.
(05:30):
It makes bossonova no more significant thanthe preset rhythm key on an old
worlds or home organ. It's reduceddown to component parts for improvisation or sleepy
versions played in hotel lounges. Jobimand jal Giberto subtle playing reveals that they
mostly eschewed these chords for spare notesthat emphasize the song's emotion. Their Bossonova
(05:54):
is in fact the jazzier way,because, to quote Miles Davis, it's
not the notes you play, it'sthe notes you don't play. Astro Joberto
was an untrained singer, which isanother reason why her vocals and a single
that launched the second most recorded versionsof a song in pop history, was
pretty much an accident. What mightbe called her naive vocals, however,
(06:15):
restores some of the melancholy from Marias'soriginal lyrics. She doesn't hold on to
a phrase the way a singer withhoned chops might have listened to Nat King
Cole, for instance, who givesan exclamation point to each ah. What
she did have was a deep understandingof the meaning of the song in the
lives of Kariocas. Her matter offact vocals brush away the leering and exoticism
(06:40):
from the tanned and lovely on Brazil'sbeeches. It's just a neighborhood scene.
Her dispassionate near whisper in all itslanguorousness, also makes plain the truth that
the US version may have otherwise elidedthe young beauty that passes you by is
doing exactly that. Thanks for listening. Please do take a moment to follow
(07:04):
the best song ever this week onyour podcast platform of choice. We very
much appreciate it. Oh, bythe way, the most recorded song in
history is the Beatles song Yesterday,written by Paul McCartney. Good job there,
Thanks again, See you next week. I'm Johnny Mack, host of
(07:31):
Daily Comedy News. Do you likea little Letterman homage there on the music
bed? Yeah? Start your morningswith a quick ten minute recap of late
nights, Not Dave All Late Nightand the latest on Dave Schappelle, Chris
Rock, John Mliney, Tick TheSorrow, Eliza Slassenger, Amy Schumer,
Joe Rogan, Mark Marin, allyour favorite comedians. It's Daily Comedy News.
It's an easy way to start yourmorning, and I promise I'll keep
(07:53):
it clean. Daily Comedy News whereveryou get your shows. We never had
any other man
The Shark Deck. On the passingof Astra Gilberto. At eighty three,
we revisit this episode of the BestSong Ever. This week, The Girl
from Ipanema recalls so much loungy,easy listening kitch, but that's not the
fault of Bassanova's history making song,and certainly not the wonderful Astra Gilberto,
(00:23):
who wasn't even supposed to sing it. Hello and welcome to the best Song
Ever this week. A short deepdive into a song and what makes it
special? The best song Ever thisweek This week is The Girl from Ipanema
by Stangatz ChIL Jilberto aster Gilberto andAntonio Carlos Jobine. I'm Scott Frampton.
(00:54):
Any's snoring you may hear is bymy cat Martin. Really like to play
the song for you at some point, but I don't have the rights to
it. That wouldn't be fair tothe people who do. There's a full
playlist in the show notes of thisand other songs in the neighborhood of this
episode where you can have a listen. So let's begin. How you hear
(01:17):
The Girl from Ipanema says a lotabout where you're from. American versions the
one that made the song and elevatormusic cliche of easy listening. Kitch are
in the key of F. Anymusician in Brazil, which named the mascots
for the twenty sixteen Summer Olympics Venetiusand Tom after its songwriters will tell you
that that version of the song soundsfake. Fake books, cheat sheets with
(01:41):
rough outlines of songs that allowed musiciansto fake their way through standards and show
tunes, first proliferated in the nineteenforties. These unlicensed songbooks also contained traditional
jazz tunes, but wouldn't be ofmuch help for modern jazz gigs that required
a working knowledge of bebop and theevolutions that followed. As a result,
some enterprising students at Boston's Berkeley Collegeof Music started assembling their own songbooks in
(02:07):
the early nineteen seventies, transcribing recordedsongs and cheekily titling the unlicensed illegal volumes
the real book. Their version putsGirl from met Panima in the key of
F. Brazilian musicians all know thesong should be in D flat. The
Girl from met Panima became an internationalsensation thanks to Astra Joberto. She wasn't
(02:29):
meant to sing on the sessions withher husband Jollan Antonio Carlos tom Jobim were
cutting in New York with jazz saxophonistDan Getz, but new English lyrics have
been commissioned for the song, andher command of the language was the strongest
of the Brazilians in the studio.The shortened version of the song and the
gets Gioberto album in the Key ofD Flat would be a top five US
(02:51):
pop hit in nineteen sixty four,introducing Basanova to state side audiences. The
song was such a sensation in Brazilthat the inspiration for the song, the
titular girl, as seventeen year oldnamed Halo Pinhero, would become famous in
her own right. Jojoberto is knownas the father of Bossanova, which translates
from the Portuguese as roughly new wave. Bosonova incorporated jazz and Tinpanali's songwriting into
(03:17):
samba, the Afro Brazilian music thatremains a national symbol of Brazil. This
was not always a welcome development.Adulterating samba with these American influence was initially
seen as whitewashing this essential element ofBrazilian culture. This is why changing the
key of the Girl from Metpanima intothe one in which Frank Sinatra sang Summer
(03:38):
Wind really rankles. It's like theBrazilian culture from which it came had been
stripped out, so that nothing remainsbut a tourist fantasy of beaches and beautiful
locals. The Portuguese lyrics to TheGirl from Mepanima were written by Venetius de
Moriius, a poet and playwright bestknown for the film Black Orpheus, which
(03:58):
sets the story of FEUs and Eurydicein the favelas of Rayo de Janeiro during
Carnival. The film won the canPalmdor in nineteen fifty nine and the Oscar
for Best Foreign Film the next year. The soundtrack, written by Joviem and
featuring Joel Roberto, popularized their jazziertakes on samba to American musicians. Like
Debts. Like the original music,Marias's lyrics are far more complex than most
(04:24):
English speaking audiences would hear. Itis indeed a song about watching a girl,
but Marias's lyrics are laden with whathe called the gift of life.
In its beautiful and melancholic, consistenteb and flow. It's a scene drawn
from his own life, where heobserved a seventeen year old pinhero as she
would pass by the Veloso Bar cafeon daily walks through the neighborhood, sometimes
(04:46):
stopping in to buy cigarettes for hermother. Norman Gimbal's English lyrics do a
fair job of relating a sense oflonging, but smoothed out American versions of
the song miss lyrics like oh whyam I so alone that make the song
not just about a pretty girl whopasses by, but youth itself. Sinatra,
(05:08):
to his credit, ends his versionwithout Joe Bim on their Francis Albert
Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim album withShe Doesn't See Me. The Real Book
was written for trained jazz musicians bymusicians being trained to play jazz, and
emphasize chords around which musicians would knowthe good notes to play in an improvisation.
(05:30):
It makes bossonova no more significant thanthe preset rhythm key on an old
worlds or home organ. It's reduceddown to component parts for improvisation or sleepy
versions played in hotel lounges. Jobimand jal Giberto subtle playing reveals that they
mostly eschewed these chords for spare notesthat emphasize the song's emotion. Their Bossonova
(05:54):
is in fact the jazzier way,because, to quote Miles Davis, it's
not the notes you play, it'sthe notes you don't play. Astro Joberto
was an untrained singer, which isanother reason why her vocals and a single
that launched the second most recorded versionsof a song in pop history, was
pretty much an accident. What mightbe called her naive vocals, however,
(06:15):
restores some of the melancholy from Marias'soriginal lyrics. She doesn't hold on to
a phrase the way a singer withhoned chops might have listened to Nat King
Cole, for instance, who givesan exclamation point to each ah. What
she did have was a deep understandingof the meaning of the song in the
lives of Kariocas. Her matter offact vocals brush away the leering and exoticism
(06:40):
from the tanned and lovely on Brazil'sbeeches. It's just a neighborhood scene.
Her dispassionate near whisper in all itslanguorousness, also makes plain the truth that
the US version may have otherwise elidedthe young beauty that passes you by is
doing exactly that. Thanks for listening. Please do take a moment to follow
(07:04):
the best song ever this week onyour podcast platform of choice. We very
much appreciate it. Oh, bythe way, the most recorded song in
history is the Beatles song Yesterday,written by Paul McCartney. Good job there,
Thanks again, See you next week. I'm Johnny Mack, host of
(07:31):
Daily Comedy News. Do you likea little Letterman homage there on the music
bed? Yeah? Start your morningswith a quick ten minute recap of late
nights, Not Dave All Late Nightand the latest on Dave Schappelle, Chris
Rock, John Mliney, Tick TheSorrow, Eliza Slassenger, Amy Schumer,
Joe Rogan, Mark Marin, allyour favorite comedians. It's Daily Comedy News.
It's an easy way to start yourmorning, and I promise I'll keep
(07:53):
it clean. Daily Comedy News whereveryou get your shows. We never had
any other man
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