Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace who regularly performs vocals for her husband and can also be heard on his 2006 version of the song Mas Que Nada with the Black Eyed Peas.
Early career
The child of a physician in Niterói, Brazil, Mendes attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late-1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was taking off. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (whom he regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil.
Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 196. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the name Sergio Mendes and Brasil '65 with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.
Brasil '66
When sales were tepid, he replaced his Brazilian born vocalist Wanda de Sa with the distinctive voice of Chicago native Lani Hall (who learned Mendes' Portuguese material phonetically), switched to Herb Alpert's A&M label, and released Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas Que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured regularly.
The original lineup of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall and Janis Hansen, Bob Matthews (bass), Jose Soares (percussion), and Joao Palma (drums). John Pisano guested as guitarist. This lineup recorded three albums between 1966-1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill.
Karen Philipp replaced Hansen as the second female vocalist, while veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Sebastiao Neto was the new bassist and Oscar Castro-Neves the guitarist. This lineup had a more orchestral and big band sound than their predecessors. Most significantly, in the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group.
Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas Que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated Burt Bacharach and Hal David song The Look of Love on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at #4, and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie, Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles, "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world, enjoying immense popularity worldwide and performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for both Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.
Middle career
Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained very popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974, followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit, "The Real Thing".
In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed huge success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, Mendes worked with singer Lani Hall again.
By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. His stature in his native Brazil is reflected by "Cantor de Mambo", a song by fellow Brazilians Os Mutantes, which they regularly dedicate to Mendes in concert.
Later career
Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, most prominently will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records.
The album features the Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch.
The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with the Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); a version that is included on his album Timeless. In Brazil, the song is pretty well-known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas.
The Black Eyed Peas' version also contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at #29 and rose to and peaked at #6 on its second week on the chart.
Official website of Sérgio Mendes: http://www.sergiomendesmusic.com
Canto Triste
Sérgio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A primavera em minha vida
Volta pra mim
Desponta novamente no meu canto
Eu te amo tanto mais
Te quero tanto mais
Há quanto tempo faz partiste
Que também te viu partir
Sem um adeus sequer
E nada existe mais em minha vida
Como um carinho teu
Como um silêncio teu
Lembro um sorriso teu tão triste
Ah, lua sem compaixão,
Sempre a vagar no céu
Onde se esconde a minha bem-amada
Onde a minha namorada
Vai e diz a ela
As minhas penas e que eu peço
Peço apenas que ela lembre
As nossas horas de poesia
Das noites de paixão
E diz-lhe da saudade
Em que me viste
Que estou sozinho
E só existe
Meu canto triste
The song "Canto Triste" by Sérgio Mendes is a beautiful and melancholic plea for the return of a lost love. The lyrics speak of how the person who left was like the spring in the singer's life, bringing new life and energy. The singer is begging for their return, to once again be a part of their life and fill it with joy. They reminisce about the love they shared, and how it was like a warm embrace, a fond memory of a time that is now gone. There is an undercurrent of sadness and regret, as they realize that their love is lost and there is little they can do to bring it back.
The lyrics paint a picture of a broken heart, of a person who has lost their love and is struggling to come to terms with the emptiness that remains. The singer's words are emotional and heartfelt, and they express the depth of their love for the person who has left. The use of imagery, such as the comparison to the spring, adds to the overall theme of new beginnings and hope for the future. The final line, "Meu canto triste", translates to "My sad song", and sums up the overall feeling of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Porque sempre foste
Because you have always been the spring in my life
A primavera em minha vida
The season that brings life, joy, and renewal to me
Volta pra mim
Come back to me
Desponta novamente no meu canto
Make my song sound bright again
Eu te amo tanto mais
I love you more and more
Te quero tanto mais
I want you more and more
Há quanto tempo faz partiste
How long has it been since you left
Como a primavera
Like the season that brings life and renewal
Que também te viu partir
That also saw you leave
Sem um adeus sequer
Without even saying goodbye
E nada existe mais em minha vida
And nothing else exists in my life
Como um carinho teu
Like your tender touch
Como um silêncio teu
Like your peaceful silence
Lembro um sorriso teu tão triste
I remember your sad smile
Ah, lua sem compaixão,
Oh, moon without compassion
Sempre a vagar no céu
Always wandering in the sky
Onde se esconde a minha bem-amada
Where my beloved is hiding
Onde a minha namorada
Where my girlfriend
Vai e diz a ela
Go and tell her
As minhas penas e que eu peço
About my sorrows and what I ask for
Peço apenas que ela lembre
I ask only that she remembers
As nossas horas de poesia
Our moments of poetry
Das noites de paixão
Of our nights of passion
E diz-lhe da saudade
And tell her about my longing
Em que me viste
That you have seen me in
Que estou sozinho
That I am alone
E só existe
And there is only
Meu canto triste
My sad song
Contributed by Harper L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@blackpearlguy194
Blackpearlguy,such a beautiful mélodie,with a wonderful voice .I bought thé LP back in 1966.Thankyou Sergio.😚👍
@veteranbroad8802
This song literally popped in my head...I remember my late sister liking/singing this song in 69 or very early 70's. She passed in '77, I left for the Air Force in '78.
@jmrodas9
A sad song, but so nicely sung, and with such feeling, I have always liked it, since I listened it on the radio. I got the record later, and always liked it, and still like it.
@jimmyj1969
Lani Hall had already shown her amazing singing abilities back then - even in demanding songs like this!