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
Viramundo
Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nas rondas da maravilha
Cortando a faca e facão
Os desatinos da vida
Gritando para assustar
A coragem da inimiga
Pulando pra não ser preso
Pelas cadeias da intriga
A vida como inimiga
A ter na morte da vida
Minha sorte decidida
Sou viramundo virado
Pelo mundo do sertão
Mas inda viro este mundo
Em festa, trabalho e pão
Virado será o mundo
E viramundo verão
O virador deste mundo
Astuto, mau e ladrão
Ser virado pelo mundo
Que virou com certidão
Ainda viro este mundo
Em festa, trabalho e pão
The lyrics of Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66's song Viramundo are about a person who is constantly wandering, cutting through the hardships of life with a knife and a machete. He shouts to scare away his enemies and jumps to avoid the traps of intrigue. However, he prefers to have life as his enemy throughout his journey rather than having his fate decided by death. The lyrics speak to the idea that life is a journey full of challenges that one must face head-on, even if it means constantly being on the move.
The second half of the song introduces the idea that the world can also be turned upside down. The singer describes himself as a "viramundo," someone who can turn the world into a celebration of work and bread. He says that the world will turn, and those who have turned it will be seen. The song suggests that there is a way to create a better world, but it requires a certain level of astuteness and cunning. Overall, the lyrics of the song promote the idea of perseverance and creativity in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Sou viramundo virado
I am a restless wanderer, turned upside down by the wonders of the world
Nas rondas da maravilha
Roaming around in amazement
Cortando a faca e facão
Fighting the struggles of life with determination and strength
Os desatinos da vida
The absurdities of life
Gritando para assustar
Yelling to intimidate
A coragem da inimiga
The courage of the enemy
Pulando pra não ser preso
Jumping to evade the chains of deceit
Pelas cadeias da intriga
By the chains of intrigue
Prefiro ter toda a vida
I prefer to live life with an enemy at every turn
A vida como inimiga
Rather than having my fate decided in death
A ter na morte da vida
Minha sorte decidida
Sou viramundo virado
I am a restless wanderer, turned upside down by the world of the back country
Pelo mundo do sertão
Mas inda viro este mundo
Yet I still turn this world upside down
Em festa, trabalho e pão
In celebration, work, and bread
Virado será o mundo
The world will be turned upside down
E viramundo verão
And they will see a restless wanderer
O virador deste mundo
The one who turns this world upside down
Astuto, mau e ladrão
Clever, wicked, and a thief
Ser virado pelo mundo
Being turned upside down by the world
Que virou com certidão
That has turned with a certificate
Ainda viro este mundo
Yet I still turn this world upside down
Em festa, trabalho e pão
In celebration, work, and bread
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GILBERTO GIL, JOSE CARLOS CAPINAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
36indiancreek
Essa música me lembra os carnavais da minha cidade, onde Viramundo é uma música que evoca a juventude dos anos 70. Saudações de Barranquilla, Colômbia
jorge luis Padron
Excelente. Thanks for posting. 🕺💃👍👏👏👏👏👏👏
leoN Bonham
Quedé atado a esta pieza.
¡Es tremenda!
Ricardo Lopez
Maravillosa musica brasileña Se dice brasileña y no brasilera Para muchos periodistas
Ali Bell
❤️💪