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
Tim-Dom-Dom
Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Faz o tamborim, tim-tim-tim
E o violão faz tim-dom
Batendo igual ao meu coração
Tim-dom-dom
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Faz o tamborim, tim-tim-tim
Batendo igual ao meu coração
Você gostou
Quando ouviu meu samba, sambou
Fez a turma toda gostar
Do seu jeito bom de gingar, de sambar
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Faz o tamborim, tim-tim-tim
E o violão faz tim-dom
Batendo igual ao meu coração
Tim-dom-dom
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Faz o tamborim, tim-tim-tim
E o violão faz tim-dom
Batendo igual ao meu coração
Você gostou
Quando ouviu meu samba, sambou
Fez a turma toda gostar
Do seu jeito bom de gingar, de sambar
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Faz o tamborim, tim-tim-tim
E o violão faz tim-dom
Batendo igual ao meu coração
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Tim-tim-tim-tim
Tim-tim-tim-tim
The song Tim-Dom-Dom by Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 is a light-hearted celebration of music and dance, specifically the samba. The lyrics describe the rhythmic beat of the tamborim and guitar, likening it to the beat of the singer's heart. The song speaks to the power of music to bring people together, as the singer describes how their samba got the whole group dancing, including the person they are addressing directly in the lyrics: "Você gostou/Quando ouviu meu samba, sambou/Fez a turma toda gostar/Do seu jeito bom de gingar, de sambar" (You enjoyed it/When you heard my samba, you danced/You made everyone enjoy/With your good way of swaying, of samba-ing).
The lyrics are simple but effective, capturing the joyous mood of the samba. The repetition of the "tim-tim-tim-tim" and "tim-dom-dom" sounds creates a catchy and infectious rhythm that encourages the listener to join in. The use of the Portuguese language adds to the song's authenticity and cultural richness, as samba is a music genre originating from Brazil. Overall, Tim-Dom-Dom is a fun and upbeat song that celebrates the power of music and dance to bring people together and lift their spirits.
Line by Line Meaning
Tim-tim-tim-tim
The sound of the tambourine's tapping
Faz o tamborim, tim-tim-tim
The tambourine makes a rhythmic tapping sound
E o violão faz tim-dom
The guitar plays a chord progression that complements the tambourine's rhythm
Batendo igual ao meu coração
The music beats in rhythm with the singer's heart
Tim-dom-dom
The guitar continues its rhythmic chord progression
Você gostou
The singer is addressing someone who enjoyed their music
Quando ouviu meu samba, sambou
The listener danced to the singer's samba music
Fez a turma toda gostar
The listener's dancing caused the entire group to enjoy the music
Do seu jeito bom de gingar, de sambar
The listener had a great way of dancing and enjoying the music
Writer(s): Joao Lourenco De Paiva Mello, Clodoaldo Brito
Contributed by Aria O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@sbtjlhw111
Ayo who forgot to turn off their facebook notifications?
Jokes aside, a classic as always!
@venitakbennett-bonaparte1986
Classic Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66!!🎼🎵🎶🎙🎚🎛🎺🎹🎸🎷🥁🎻🎺🎹🎙🎤🎛🎶🎵🎼
@brunomello5370
Referencia!
@Oli1974
First chords sampled by Moodorama for their song "Sweet Toffee": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZHToK0l3Q