Sérgio Santos Mendes (born Niteroi, 11 February 1… Read Full Bio ↴See Sérgio Mendes.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (born Niteroi, 11 February 1941) is a Brazilian musician. Born the son of a physician in Niteroi, 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 Antonio Carlos Jobim (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 Adderly 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. When sales were tepid, he replaced his Brazilian born vocalist Wanda Sa with the distinctive voice of Chicago native Lani Hall (who learned Mendes' Portuguese material phonetically) and switched to Herb Alpert's A&M label and released Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66. (Hall would later marry Alpert). The album ultimately went platinum based largely upon the success of the single Mas Que Nada and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured regularly. 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/Hal David song "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in March 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie, and 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." Though he continued to enjoy adult contemporary chart successes with Brasil '66 through 1971, he would not experience the mainstream chart hits he enjoyed in 1968 until his comeback album in 1983 generated the biggest single of his career, "Never Gonna Let You Go." However, 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 President Johnson and President Nixon.
Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-70s, but he remained very popular in South America and Japan. (This disparity became a Seinfeld in-joke.) 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. 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. He has released over thirty-five albums, and still plays his bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. His newest album, Timeless released in 2006, featured Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas, Q-Tip, Justin Timberlake, and Pharoahe Monch.
(Text taken in whole from the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Mendes on March 30, 2006)
For Me
Sergio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey, every star's in a spin
Hey, something's saying out there
Hey, something's gonna begin
For me
Never at no time was there a night like this
Never at no time was every star so clear
Never at no time was everything so clear
Somewhere there's someone else who feels it too
Something rare and wonderful
Is due
Hey, there's a fire in the sky
Hey, and the moon's in a dive
Hey, it's a dream you can't buy
Hey, life is coming alive
For me
Never at no time was there a night like this
Never at no time was every star so clear
Never at no time has my heart beat so fast
For me
Never at no time was there a night like this
The song For Me by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 portrays a dreamy and surreal experience. The initial lines of the song depict an unusual atmosphere with a ‘hum in the air,’ and ‘every star is in a spin.’ The singer believes there is something extraordinary happening, and there is an air of anticipation that something is about to begin. What is interesting to note is that the singer is convinced that this feeling of excitement is for them alone. This is where the title of the song, "For Me," comes into play. The singer is convinced that this moment is unique to them, and no one else can experience it like they can.
As the song progresses, we can see that the singer is entirely immersed in their surroundings, and they have never felt this way before. The stars are extraordinarily clear, and their heart is beating fast. We get a sense of urgency, and the singer is living in the moment, imagining that there is another person out there that feels the same way they do. The language used in the song is poetic and allows the listener to visualize the same experience.
In conclusion, the song For Me by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 is about a moment of heightened senses and the belief that something exceptional is about to happen. The song's language is poetic, and its surrealism allows the listener to imagine and feel the thrill of the experience along with the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, there's a hum in the air
There's a feeling of anticipation around.
Hey, every star's in a spin
The whole world around is caught up in excitement.
Hey, something's saying out there
There's a message out there beckoning me.
Hey, something's gonna begin
There is something new, exciting and positive ready to start.
For me
This is all happening for me.
Never at no time was there a night like this
This is a highly unusual, special and unique moment in time.
Never at no time was every star so clear
There has never been a time when everything seemed to align so perfectly. Everything is crystal clear.
Never at no time has my heart beat so fast
The excitement I feel is pushing my heart to new levels.
Somewhere there's someone else who feels it too
I'm not alone in feeling this because there is someone else out there who is feeling it too.
Something rare and wonderful
This is a moment that doesn't come around often. It is special and beautiful.
Is due
This is something that deserves or is owed to me, a positive change in my life.
Hey, there's a fire in the sky
The world around me seems to be on fire with anticipation and excitement.
Hey, and the moon's in a dive
The usual rhythm of life is changing, even the moon is playing a part in this special moment.
Hey, it's a dream you can't buy
This is a moment that I couldn't have planned or predicted. It's like a dream come true that can't be bought or replicated.
Hey, life is coming alive
This is a moment when life around me feels more alive, vibrant and exciting.
For me
This is happening for me, everything is aligning for my benefit.
Never at no time was there a night like this
This moment is unlike any other, it is truly special and unique.
Never at no time was every star so clear
Every aspect of life right now is better than expected, it's all crystal clear.
Never at no time has my heart beat so fast
The emotions I'm feeling right now are like nothing I've ever experienced before.
For me
This is all happening for my benefit, everything is coming together to create a positive experience for me.
Contributed by Kaitlyn A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
david
on Waters of March (Les Eaux de Mars) - French Version
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