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
Samba Da Bencao
Sérgio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Alegria é a melhor coisa que existe
É assim como a luz no coração
Mas prá fazer um samba com beleza
É preciso um bocado de tristeza
Senão não se faz um samba não
E quem faz samba assim não é de nada
O bom samba é uma forma de oração
Porque o samba é a tristeza que balança
E a tristeza tem sempre uma esperança
De um dia não ser mais triste não
Põe um pouco de amor numa cadência
E vai ver que ninguém no mundo vence
A beleza que tem um samba não
Porque o samba nasceu lá na Bahia
E se hoje ele é branco na poesia
Ele é negro demais no coração
É melhor ser alegre que ser triste
Alegria é a melhor coisa que existe
É assim como a luz no coração
Porque o samba nasceu lá na Bahia
E se hoje ele é branco na poesia
Ele é negro demais no coração
The lyrics of "Samba Da Bencao" by Sergio Mendes can be interpreted as a celebration of the power and beauty of samba music. The first stanza stresses the importance of joy and happiness in life, but acknowledges that to create a truly beautiful samba, some sadness or longing is necessary. This indicates that samba is more than just a style of music but also a form of emotional expression.
In the second stanza, the lyrics emphasize that creating samba is not just about telling jokes or making people laugh. Rather, it is a form of prayer or meditation that conveys a deep emotion and feeling. The third stanza describes the nature of samba as a reflection of the sadness, hope, and beauty of life. Finally, the last stanza touches on the origins of samba as a musical form created by black Brazilians in Bahia, which became a source of inspiration for people of all races.
Overall, "Samba Da Bencao" is a powerful tribute to the beauty, depth, and universality of samba music. It emphasizes the importance of joy and hope, but also acknowledges the role of sadness and melancholy in creating music that truly resonates with people.
Line by Line Meaning
É melhor ser alegre que ser triste
It's better to be happy than sad
Alegria é a melhor coisa que existe
Happiness is the best thing there is
É assim como a luz no coração
It's like a light in the heart
Mas prá fazer um samba com beleza
But to make a beautiful samba
É preciso um bocado de tristeza
You need a bit of sadness
Senão não se faz um samba não
Otherwise you can't make a samba
Fazer samba não é contar piada
Making samba isn't telling jokes
E quem faz samba assim não é de nada
And someone who makes samba like that isn't worth anything
O bom samba é uma forma de oração
Good samba is a form of prayer
Porque o samba é a tristeza que balança
Because samba is sadness that sways
E a tristeza tem sempre uma esperança
And sadness always has hope
De um dia não ser mais triste não
That someday it won't be sad anymore
Põe um pouco de amor numa cadência
Put a little love in the rhythm
E vai ver que ninguém no mundo vence
And you'll see that no one in the world can beat
A beleza que tem um samba não
The beauty that a samba has
Porque o samba nasceu lá na Bahia
Because samba was born in Bahia
E se hoje ele é branco na poesia
And if today it's white in poetry
Ele é negro demais no coração
It's still too black in the heart
É melhor ser alegre que ser triste
It's better to be happy than sad
Alegria é a melhor coisa que existe
Happiness is the best thing there is
É assim como a luz no coração
It's like a light in the heart
Porque o samba nasceu lá na Bahia
Because samba was born in Bahia
E se hoje ele é branco na poesia
And if today it's white in poetry
Ele é negro demais no coração
It's still too black in the heart
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Baden Powell, Marcelo Peixoto, Vinicius De Moraes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mark Edwards
This whole album is fantastic!!! Love it
Claudio Veiga
Para fazer um bom samba con belleza tem haver um algo de tristeza , porque o bom samba é a tristeza que balança porqué o bom samba é uma forma de oraçao e a tristeza tem sempre uma esperança..😉😉😉😉😉😉😉😀😀😀
Raggedy Haggity
I find it offensive that ppl forgot abt this album. Mas que nada by sergio & will.i.am was what brought me deeper into brazilian music. Its monumental bcoz hip hop brought a second wave introduction to this beautiful music💕💕 #goat
Henry Leonardo Campos García
Falta más reconocimiento a esta canción, saludos Sergio Mendes. Adoro tu música
Braziliaan_077 Santos brazil
🇧🇷😍🔥💪🏽🙏🏽
Neo Masemola
Nice!! 2006 was a good year..
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