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
Maria Moita
Sérgio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De Mucama com feitor
Meu pai dormia em cama
Minha mãe no pisador
Meu pai só dizia assim, venha
Minha mãe dizia sim, sem falar
Mulher que fala muito perde logo seu amor
A mulher nasceu depois
Por isso é que a mulher
Trabalha sempre pelos dois
Homem acaba de chegar, tá com fome
A mulher tem que olhar pelo homem
E é deitada, em pé, mulher tem é que trabalhar
O rico acorda tarde, já começa resmungar
O pobre acorda cedo, já começa trabalhar
Vou pedir ao meu Babalorixá
Pra fazer uma oração pra Xangô
Pra por pra trabalhar gente que nunca trabalhou
The lyrics of Sérgio Mendes Trio's "Maria Moita" depict the story of a woman who was born in Bahia, Brazil. She was the child of a mixed-race couple, her mother being a Mucama (a female slave) and her father being her mother's white master. The song delves deeper into the character's life, depicting her father's privilege and her mother's servitude. The lyrics suggest that her mother's silence is partly responsible for her father's dominance over her, and that women who speak up lose their love. It also portrays the patriarchal nature of society, where men are supposed to rely on women and the latter are expected to work for both their own livelihoods and that of their husbands.
The lyrics of "Maria Moita" weaves in the themes of gender inequality, racism, and the struggles of marginalized communities in Brazil's history. The lyrics portray the challenges that economically challenged families face, where women are expected to navigate through their daily lives while shouldering the financial responsibilities. The song also reflects the oppression of the slave community who, through generations of repeated exploitation, internalized an unjust and inequitable social order that subordinated women and people of color. The song's lyrics subtly insinuate that the only way to break free is to fight back, which is evident from the last line where the character requests her "Babalorixá" (a priest or spiritual figure in Candomblé) to offer prayers to Xangô (the god of justice, fire, and lightning) to help those who have never worked in their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Nasci lá na Bahia
I was born in Bahia
De Mucama com feitor
My mother was a slave and my father a slave master
Meu pai dormia em cama
My father slept in a bed
Minha mãe no pisador
My mother worked as a foot-powered grain mill
Meu pai só dizia assim, venha
My father only said, come
Minha mãe dizia sim, sem falar
My mother said yes, without speaking
Mulher que fala muito perde logo seu amor
A woman who talks too much quickly loses her love
Deus fez primeiro o homem
God made man first
A mulher nasceu depois
Woman was born after
Por isso é que a mulher
That's why a woman
Trabalha sempre pelos dois
Works always for two
Homem acaba de chegar, tá com fome
The man just arrived and is hungry
A mulher tem que olhar pelo homem
The woman has to take care of the man
E é deitada, em pé, mulher tem é que trabalhar
And whether lying down or standing up, a woman has to work
O rico acorda tarde, já começa resmungar
The rich person wakes up late and immediately starts complaining
O pobre acorda cedo, já começa trabalhar
The poor person wakes up early and immediately starts working
Vou pedir ao meu Babalorixá
I'm going to ask my Babalorixá
Pra fazer uma oração pra Xangô
To make a prayer for Xangô
Pra por pra trabalhar gente que nunca trabalhou
To put people to work who have never worked before
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CARLOS EDUARDO LYRA BARBOSA, VINICIUS DE MORAES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peanut Butter
Adam Neely, thank you for introducing me this great masterpiece❤️
Edoardo Micozzi
id like to quote this comment for myself and also add: this was basically my "introduction to bossa sound 101" now i play like only bossa and i want to learn portoguese to sing on it
Peanut Butter
@Edoardo Micozzi This didn't introduce me to Bossa Nova, but this is saved in my playlist.
JuryTortoise539
Based
Jorge Mario Rodas
Nice bossa nova tune I used to hear so long ago. I remember it was in vogue when I was in my first year at the University and I heard it when I was tired of so much studying when relaxing.
oliver13deft
maravilhoso
katiana
such good music 😁
Dmitry Serykh
repetition legitimizes
repetition legitimizes
repetition legitimizes
xmetrix
gloria
Cinemuhs
gloooooooooooooooooo ria