João Gilberto & Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz -- The Girl From Ipanema

 

This week's Reminiscings of Youth article is on another song that actually came before my time, but not by much, and it was with me all throughout my childhood and adolescence. 

I am talking about "The Girl From Ipanema" which was originally released in May 1964, so it's been 57 years this month that we've gotten to know about this bossa nova classic that has gone into many a music collection, an elevator, a supermarket and even a telephone on hold. I've actually written on "The Girl From Ipanema" before through Lisa Ono's（小野リサ）cover of the song, and I'll just repeat the last paragraph from that article here to give you my personal connection with it:

I guess I have a soft spot for that girl from Ipanema since the bossa ballad by Antonio Carlos Jobim was one of the first songs that I remember hearing as a toddler. As far as I know, I don't think my father had the record as part of his collection but it was a tune that I heard quite frequently on radio and TV. Years later, it was required playing during my lone year of band class back in high school although I didn't quite have the appreciation for it that I do now (playing off-tune renditions of it on an old clarinet can take the buzz off). Realizing that the song has become possibly so ubiquitous to the point of kitsch, I think if "The Girl From Ipanema" is given its due respect, it can still be that wonderfully cooling song from 1964.

One wrong assumption that I'd had about "The Girl From Ipanema" is that this was Astrud Gilberto's song alone. Of course, it wasn't. Antonio Carlos Jobim, was the composer with Vinicius de Moraes being responsible for the Portuguese lyrics while Normal Gimbel provided the English lyrics. And then, João Gilberto, the man who has been considered the father of bossa nova, sang the Portuguese part of the song with his then-wife Astrud singing the English portion and legendary saxophonist Stan Getz adding his mellow tones. 

Another wrong assumption was that The Girl was merely fictional but actually "The Girl From Ipanema" was inspired by a real teenager, then known as Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto, who had been living in the tony district of Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro. I can't help but make comparisons with Helen of Troy who launched a thousand ships. I guess in this case, Heloisa of Ipanema launched a million LPs.

The accolades are all there in the Wikipedia writeup on the song, but "The Girl From Ipanema" was a global hit, reaching No. 5 on both the American and Canadian charts, and it was Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards that year. According to an article in the "Wall Street Journal", it's also apparently "...the second most recorded pop song in history, after "Yesterday" by The Beatles."

But of course, as much as "The Girl From Ipanema" has become this beloved mainstay of bossa nova, it's also been the go-to example for the dreaded Muzak of elevators and shopping malls. Personally, I don't recall ever hearing the song in an elevator, store or even as a song to be played while I've been put on hold, but it's gotten plenty of exposure in such places in movies and TV shows such as "The Blues Brothers" above. Maybe the whole thing about this song and Muzak is just how soothing and harmless it is. That's cool with me, though, as the original will always remain a staple in my musical memories.

Now, as for what was happening in Japan in music during that year, Oricon didn't exist in 1964 and the site "Showa Pops" doesn't go back beyond 1965 so my usual sources won't be of any help here. However, I did find out that Hachiro Izawa's（井沢八郎）classic kayo "Ahh, Ueno Eki" （あゝ上野駅）was released in the same month as "The Girl From Ipanema".

Otherwise, there are some of the prize winners from the 6th annual Japan Record Awards from 1964.

Best Singing Performance: Yoko Kishi -- Yoake no Uta （夜明けのうた）

Special Prize: Haruo Minami -- Tokyo Gorin Ondo （東京五輪音頭）

Best New Artist: Harumi Miyako -- Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana （アンコ椿は恋の花）