Mendes is married to the singer Gracinha Leporace who regularly performs vocals alongside Mendes and can 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 1961. 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 Brasil '65 group name 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 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
Gente
Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Porque nunca na vida sofreu por não ter
Deus, quando deu esta terra pra gente
Pensou em fazer tudo bem diferente
Não que eu queira ter muita coisa demais
Quero é ter um pouco de paz
Quero apenas ter um lugar pra morar
Porque, veja bem
Há quem tem, sem saber, mais de 100
Pode até mesmo o senhor se zangar
Então venha cá pra terra pra tudo mudar
Gente que entende que não deve dar
Porque nunca na vida sofreu por não ter
Deus, quando deu esta terra pra gente
Pensou em fazer tudo bem diferente
Veja bem
Há quem tem, sem saber, mais de 100
Pode até mesmo o senhor se zangar
Então venha cá pra terra pra tudo mudar
These lyrics from Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66's song "Gente" highlight the idea that those who have never experienced a lack of resources simply do not understand the struggles of those who have. The first two lines call attention to the notion of not giving, a concept that may seem counterintuitive to those who have always had abundance. The lyrics suggest that God created the earth differently, with the intention of everyone having what they need. The lines "Não que eu queira ter muita coisa demais / Quero é ter um pouco de paz / Quero apenas ter um lugar pra morar" further emphasize the idea that contentment in simple things is most important.
The song continues with the message that some people have far more than they need, while others suffer without enough. The line "Pode até mesmo o senhor se zangar" suggests that the wealthy may even become defensive, upset or even angry when confronted with the reality of the less fortunate. The lyrics call for change, saying that those who understand the plight of poverty should come together to effect change. Overall, the song is a call to recognize and address socioeconomic inequality and to seek a more equitable world for all.
Line by Line Meaning
Gente que entende que não deve dar
People who understand that they shouldn't give away everything
Porque nunca na vida sofreu por não ter
Because they never suffered from not having enough
Deus, quando deu esta terra pra gente
God, when he gave us this land
Pensou em fazer tudo bem diferente
Thought about making everything different
Não que eu queira ter muita coisa demais
Not that I want to have too much stuff
Quero é ter um pouco de paz
I just want a little bit of peace
Quero apenas ter um lugar pra morar
I just want a place to call home
Porque, veja bem
Because, you see
Há quem tem, sem saber, mais de 100
There are those who without knowing have more than 100
Pode até mesmo o senhor se zangar
Even the Lord might get upset
Então venha cá pra terra pra tudo mudar
So come here to earth to change everything
Writer(s): Ray Gilbert, Marcos Kostenbader Valle, Paulo Valle
Contributed by Leo E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.