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
Night and Day
Sérgio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You are the one
Only you beneath the moon
And under the sun
Whether near to me or far
It's no matter, darling,
Where you are
I think of you
Day and night
Why is it so
That this longing for you
Follows wherever I go
In the roarin' traffic's boom
In the silence of my lonely room
I think of you
Day and night
[Chorus]
Night and day
Under the hide of me
There's an oh such a hungry
Yearnin' burnin' inside of me
And its torment won't be through
'Til you let me spend my life
Making love to you
Day and night
Night and day
Night and day
You are one
Only you beneath the moon or under the sun
Whether near to me or far
It's no matter, baby, where you are
I think of you
Day and night
Night and day
Why is it so
That this longing for you
Follows wherever I go
In the roarin' traffic's boom
In the silence of my lonely room
I think of you
Day and night
[Chorus]
The lyrics of Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66's song Night and Day expresses the depth and intensity of the singer's love for someone. The lyrics describe how the singer thinks about their loved one constantly throughout the day and night, whether they are near or far. The chorus repeats the phrase "night and day" to emphasize the singer's infatuation and how it consumes every aspect of their being. The lyrics capture the feeling of longing and desire, with lines such as "Underneath the hide of me, there's an oh such a hungry yearning burning inside of me" and "its torment won't be through till you let me spend my life making love to you."
The song expresses a sense of duality, as the singer repeats the phrase "night and day" and "day and night" throughout the song, representing the timeless and continuous nature of the love they feel. The verses also contrast the external world of "roarin' traffic's boom" with the internal world of the "silence of my lonely room," highlighting the power that love has to transcend the noise and chaos of the outside world.
Overall, the lyrics of Night and Day capture the all-consuming nature of passionate love, a longing that cannot be quenched until the two people come together in a union of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Night and day
The passing of time carries on, without any pause or break
You are the one
You are the only person that matters
Only you beneath the moon And under the sun
No one else in the world matters to me, only you
Whether near to me or far, It's no matter, darling, Where you are
I don't care how close or far away you are, your presence is constantly missed
I think of you
You're constantly on my mind
Day and night
Every second of every day, without ceasing
Why is it so That this longing for you Follows wherever I go
I can't seem to shake this strong desire for you, no matter where I am or what I'm doing
In the roarin' traffic's boom, In the silence of my lonely room
Whether surrounded by commotion, or alone in quiet space, thoughts of you persist
Under the hide of me, There's an oh such a hungry Yearnin' burnin' inside of me
My deepest and most intense desires are centered around you
And its torment won't be through, 'Til you let me spend my life Making love to you
This yearning will never cease, until I can fulfill my burning desire to be intimately connected with you
Night and day
Constantly, without end
Day and night
Without interruption, always on my mind
Lyrics © Red Brick Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Aratchamitr8190
Lyric :
Night and day
You are the one
Only you beneath the moon
And under the sun
Whether near to me or far
It's no matter, darling,
Where you are
I think of you
Night and day
Day and night
Why is it so
That this longing for you
Follows wherever I go
In the roarin' traffic's boom
In the silence of my lonely room
I think of you
Day and night
Night and day
Under the hide of me
There's an oh such a hungry
Yearnin' burnin' inside of me
And its torment won't be through
'Til you let me spend my life
Making love to you
Day and night
Night and day
Night and day
You are one
Only you beneath the moon or under the sun
Whether near to me or far
It's no matter, baby, where you are
I think of you
Day and night
Night and day
Why is it so
That this longing for you
Follows wherever I go
In the roarin' traffic's boom
In the silence of my lonely room
I think of you
Day and night
Night and day
Under the hide of me
There's an oh such a hungry
Yearnin' burnin' inside of me
And its torment won't be through
'Til you let me spend my life
Making love to you
Day and night
Night and day
@wargeocarl
I was in high school when Brasil 66 was on the radio along with all the other great music that was around. I did not appreciate this fantastic sound then. but...now I love it!
@ronbruckman6081
Night and day, young age, old age..........it's always the right time to enjoy this very outstanding music.
Thanks Sergio and all the others!!!😊❤
@deboraheasterly6313
Love this song and always have. What has happened to music today. It is not the same and never will be.
@gazrgazr2394
Correct, all now seems computerised, enhanced, cheating, but you can not cheat on sheer talent which is sadly very scarce these days.
Gaz UK.
@michaelevans6216
Idk man, there were probably tons of people who heard this music back then and thought the same thing you’re saying about modern music. The world changes and that’s great, there’s no limit to the styles to be explored.
@gazrgazr2394
@@michaelevans6216 Yes, but you have to agree the talent has dropped, especially when you hear some of this modern stuff live, that's if they dare do it live !😎
@kaybeetoyz
@@gazrgazr2394help. I'm looking for a particular version of the song that is the most upbeat and amazing to hear and I cannot remember the artist. It was definitely a man. The first time I heard it was on an Old Navy commercial for dog leashes
@michaelevans6216
@@gazrgazr2394 Yeah I guess thats true. I think recording in general has shifted the bar for music performance. and its way easier for less talented people to make music now. but there are still some super talented artists out there!
@nyneegardner6235
Every song that I hear from this incredible band and maestro of a bandleader is exquisite!!
@flaviogalvaogalvao1081
Saudades dos bons tempos do Sérgio Mendes! Foi bom demais!