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
Magic Lady
Sérgio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll meet the magic lady
I warn you, friend
Beware the magic lady
She'll cloud your days
With chaos and confusion
She'll crowd your nights
With dreaming and illusion
Her mystic eyes
Will hypnotize and haunt you
Her golden summer smile
Will tease and taunt you
And as you pray
That she will always want you
You'll know the magic lady's
Name is love
You never can forget her
Once you've known her
But only fools believe
that they can own her
And once you've heard
The silver of her laughter
She'll own your very soul
forever after
She'll spread the
Painted tarot cards before you
And Promise you
A thousand bright tomorrows
Then leave you all alone
To count your sorrows
That thief of hearts
The magig lady love
You never can forget her
Once you've known her
But only fools believe
that they can own her
And once you've heard
The silver of her laughter
She'll own your very soul
forever after
She'll spread the
Painted tarot cards before you
And Promise you
A thousand bright tomorrows
Then leave you all alone
To count your sorrows
That thief of hearts
The magig lady love
The magig lady
The magig lady
The magig lady
The magig lady
The magig lady
The magig lady . . .
The lyrics of Sergio Mendes's song "Magic Lady" are a warning against the perils of falling in love with a woman who possesses an irresistible mystery and allure. The song tells the story of a man who meets a woman who enchants him with her beauty, her eyes that seem to hypnotize and haunt him, and her smile that teases and taunts him. The magic lady promises him a thousand bright tomorrows, but she leaves him alone to count his sorrows when she disappears into the night. The chorus of the song reminds listeners that the magic lady will own their very souls forever after.
The song paints a picture of a woman who is elusive, unpredictable, and impossible to forget. The magic lady is compared to a thief of hearts who uses her mystic powers to manipulate her victims' emotions. The lyrics are a cautionary tale to all who believe that they can own her or control her. The magic lady is a force of nature who can bring chaos and confusion to a man's life just as easily as she can bring hope and happiness. The song's melancholy melody and haunting vocals perfectly capture the mood of a man who has fallen under the spell of a woman he knows he can never truly possess.
Line by Line Meaning
One day, my friend
At some point in your life, my friend
You'll meet the magic lady
You will encounter a woman who possesses a certain charm
I warn you, friend
I caution you, my friend
Beware the magic lady
Be cautious of the woman with the power to charm
She'll cloud your days
She will cause confusion and uncertainty in your life
With chaos and confusion
Resulting in disorder and disorientation
She'll crowd your nights
She will fill your nights with thoughts and illusions
With dreaming and illusion
With fanciful ideas and deceptive images
Her mystic eyes
Her enigmatic gaze
Will hypnotize and haunt you
Will mesmerize and leave an indelible impression on you
Her golden summer smile
Her radiant, warm smile
Will tease and taunt you
Will tantalize and frustrate you
And as you pray
While you hope
That she will always want you
That she will forever desire you
You'll know the magic lady's
You will recognize the woman's
Name is love
That she represents love
You never can forget her
You will never be able to erase her memory
Once you've known her
After you have experienced her charm
But only fools believe
However, foolish people entertain the notion
that they can own her
That they can possess her
And once you've heard
Furthermore, once you have listened to
The silver of her laughter
The musical sound of her laughter
She'll own your very soul
She will have complete control over you
forever after
For all time to come
She'll spread the
She will lay out
Painted tarot cards before you
Colorful tarot cards in front of you
And Promise you
And pledge to you
A thousand bright tomorrows
Countless days of sunshine
Then leave you all alone
Then abandon you
To count your sorrows
To be left to your grief
That thief of hearts
That woman who steals hearts
The magig lady love
The woman who possesses the enchanting power of love
The magig lady
The woman with a bewitching allure
The magig lady
The woman with an irresistible charm
The magig lady . . .
The woman who possesses the power to captivate
Contributed by Daniel F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Claudio Santos
Boa canção eu queria conhecer as 2 cantoras da banda Magic lady
imusfan48
Love the cover art!