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
Never gonna let you go
Sérgio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To let you get away from me
I'll regret that move
For as long as I'm livin'
But now that I've come to see the light
All I want to do is make things right
So just say the word
You and me
We're gonna be better than we were before
I loved you then but now I intend
To open up and love you even more
This time you can be sure
I'm never gonna let you go
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Gonna hold your body close to mine
From this day on we're gonna be together
Oh I swear this time
I'm never gonna let you go
Looking back now
It seems so clear
I had it all when you were here
Oh you gave it all
And I took it for granted
But if there's some feeling left in you
Some flickers of love
That still shines through
Let's talk it out
Let's talk about second chances
Wait and see
It's gonna be sweeter than it was before
I gave some then but now I intend
To dedicate myself to giving more
This time you can be sure
I'm never gonna let you go
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Gonna hold your body close to mine
From this day on we're gonna be together
Oh I swear this time
I'm never gonna let you go
Oh, so if you'll just say
You want me too
I'm never gonna let you go
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Gonna hold your body close to mine
From this day on we're gonna be together
Oh I swear this time
I'm never gonna let you go
Never gonna let you go
Hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Hold your body close to mine
Oh we're gonna be together
Oh I swear this time
I'm never gonna let you go
In this song, Sergio Mendes is expressing deep regret about losing someone dear to him. He acknowledges that he was wrong to let that person go, and he is now remorseful about that mistake. He wants a second chance to make things right and promises not to let this person go ever again. He makes a commitment to the one he loves to hold them in his arms forever and to try and make up for all the times he hurt them. It's clear that he deeply cares and loves this person and will do everything in his power to make things work this time around. The song is a beautiful expression of regret, love, and a promise to cherish and hold on to the one you love.
The lyrics of "Never gonna let you go" were written by Cynthia Weil, who was inspired by the love story between her and her husband-songwriter Barry Mann. Notably, this song was released in 1983 and was a massive hit, reaching number one on the US Adult Contemporary and number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Line by Line Meaning
I was as wrong as I could be
I made a mistake in letting you go
To let you get away from me
I regret losing you
I'll regret that move
I will always regret losing you
For as long as I'm livin'
My regret will never end
But now that I've come to see the light
I understand my mistake
All I want to do is make things right
I want to fix our relationship
So just say the word
If you forgive me
And tell me that I'm forgiven
I promise to never hurt you again
You and me
We can be together again
We're gonna be better than we were before
Our relationship can be stronger
I loved you then but now I intend
I want to love you more than ever
To open up and love you even more
I want to show you how much I care
This time you can be sure
I'm serious about making it work
I'm never gonna let you go
I will never lose you again
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
I want to be with you forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I want to make amends for hurting you
I hurt you so
I regret my past actions
Gonna hold your body close to mine
I want to be close to you
From this day on we're gonna be together
I'm committed to you
Oh I swear this time
I promise to never make the same mistake again
Looking back now
Reflecting on my mistakes
It seems so clear
I can now see how much I lost
I had it all when you were here
You were everything to me
Oh you gave it all
You gave me your heart
And I took it for granted
But I didn't appreciate it
But if there's some feeling left in you
If you still have feelings for me
Some flickers of love
Any amount of love
That still shines through
That is still present
Let's talk it out
Let's communicate and work on us
Let's talk about second chances
Let's work towards a fresh start
Wait and see
Our future can be brighter
It's gonna be sweeter than it was before
Our relationship can be happier
I gave some then but now I intend
I was loving before, but now I want to be better
To dedicate myself to giving more
To show you just how much I care
Oh we're gonna be together
Our future is together
Oh, so if you'll just say
If you forgive me and give me another chance
You want me too
You feel the same way
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@edgarfilho6129
Letra / Lyrics
I was as wrong as I could be
To let you get away from me
I'll regret that move
For as long as I'm livin'
But now that I've come to see the light
All I want to do is make things right
So just say the word
And tell me that I'm forgiven
You and me
We're gonna be better than we were before
I loved you then but now I intend
To open up and love you even more
This time you can be sure
I'm never gonna let you go
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Gonna hold your body close to mine
From this day on we're gonna be together
Oh I swear this time
I'm never gonna let you go
Oh,oh so if you'll just say
You want me too
I'm never gonna let you go
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Gonna hold your body close to mine
From this day on we're gonna be together
Oh I swear this time
I'm never gonna let you go
@josefilho8526
Que felicidade poder embalar os ouvidos e a alma com uma canção dessas....
I NEVER LET YOU GO
I was as wrong as I could be
To let you get away from me
I'll regret that move
For as long as I'm livin'
But now that I've come to see the light
All I want to do is make things right
So just say the word
And tell me that I'm forgiven
You and me
We're gonna be better than we were before
I loved you then but now I intend
To open up and love you even more
This time you can be sure
I'm never gonna let you go
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Gonna hold your body close to mine
From this day on we're gonna be together
Oh I swear this time
I'm never gonna let you go
Looking back now
It seems so clear
I had it all when you were here
Oh you gave it all
And I took it for granted
But if there's some feeling left in you
Some flickers of love
That still shines through
Let's talk it out
Let's talk about second chances
Wait and see
It's gonna be sweeter than it was before
I gave some then but now I intend
To dedicate myself to giving more
This time you can be sure
I'm never gonna let you go
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Oh, so if you'll just say
You want me too
@kathleenjohnson9847
Today's music cannot compare to anything that we had in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Songs like this live on forever!
@programapiloto-comjuniorhi7595
You're soooooo right.
@thearpify
Amen to that 😃✌️
@programapiloto-comjuniorhi7595
@Malayna Petersen Nowadays there is noooo music in the mainstream
@ivorykeyed
Lucky to find more than 3 chords in today's music. Even luckier to hear a cymbal crash.
@PredaconKing-cn2xx
Indeed Kathleen! No comparison at all. See (unlike today) you had to actually have Talent & Skill to get in the door....otherwise they met you at it, pat you on the back, and sent your punk a.. home.
This is the epitome of music and song writing at its best...and the times thereof stood the same. I miss them, smh. 80's FOREVER!
@CliffordBorg
Joe Pizzulo's voice is a masterpiece. It's really one of the nicest male voices ever heard in my life.
@MuzixMaker
Shame he didn't have a bigger career.
@paulsonj72
@@MuzixMakerHe was a studio musician in LA and was actually a back up singer for the Solid Gold band that musical director Michael Miller put together.
@merloctave22
Oh yes, I definitely agree 💯 %.
Especially in the song "Take This love".