The Girl from Ipanema

The first commercial recording was in 1962, by Pery Ribeiro. The Stan Getz recording featuring the vocal debut of Astrud Gilberto became an international hit. This version had been shortened from the version on the album Getz/Gilberto (recorded in March 1963, released in March 1964), which had also included the Portuguese lyrics sung by Astrud's then husband João Gilberto. In the US, the single peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and went to number one for two weeks on the Easy Listening chart.^[5] Overseas it peaked at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart, and charted highly throughout the world.


Numerous recordings have been used in films, sometimes as an elevator music cliché. It is believed to be the second-most recorded pop song in history, after "Yesterday" by The Beatles.^[6] The song was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.^[7] In 2004, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.^[8]


In 2000, the 1964 release of the song by Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto on Verve Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[9]

History[edit]

The song was composed for a musical comedy titled Dirigível ("Airship"), then a work in progress of Vinicius de Moraes. The original title was "Menina que Passa" ("The Girl Who Passes By"); the first verse was different. Jobim composed the melody on his piano in his new house in Rua Barão da Torre, in Ipanema. In turn, Moraes had written the lyrics in Petrópolis, near Rio de Janeiro, as he had done with "Chega de Saudade" ("No More Blues") six years earlier. While firmly rooted in bossa nova, "The Girl from Ipanema" includes influences from blues and Tin Pan Alley.^[10]


During a recording session in New York with João Gilberto, Antônio Carlos Jobim and Stan Getz, the idea of cutting an English-language version came up. Norman Gimbel wrote the English lyrics. João's wife, Astrud Gilberto, was the only one of the Brazilians who could speak English well and was chosen to sing. Her voice, without trained singer mannerisms, proved a perfect fit for the song.^[11] However, she was never credited or received any royalties, and received only $120 for her part.^[12]


The key the song is played in traditionally has varied depending upon the origin of the recording. While the original Ribeiro version was in the key of G, most Brazilian performances use D♭ and most American versions use F.^[10]


Astrud Gilberto and Getz appear as themselves and perform the song in the 1964 film Get Yourself a College Girl.


Frank Sinatra recorded the song with Jobim in 1967 for their album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim.^[13] Ella Fitzgerald recorded it for her two-disc set of Brazilian music Ella Abraça Jobim, released by Pablo Today in 1981. Ethel Ennis and Nat King Cole have also both recorded the song. A version by Gary Criss titled "The Girl From Ipanema / Brazilian Nights" from his album "Rio De Janeiro" reached number 19 in the Canadian RPM dance charts in August 1978.^[14] Eliane Elias included the song in her albums Eliane Elias Sings Jobim (1998) and Brazilian Classics (2003).