美国国家公共电台 NPR--Astrud Gilberto, 'The Girl from Ipanema' singer, dies at 83

Astrud Gilberto, 'The Girl from Ipanema' singer, dies at 83

Transcript¹

Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, whose beguiling² rendition of "The Girl From Ipanema" made her world famous, has died at 83. (Story aired on All Things Considered on June 6, 2023.)

: [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: In this story, Walter Escobar was mistakenly identified as Leo Rivas.]

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Next, we have a story behind one of the most covered pop songs in history.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA")

ASTRUD GILBERTO: (Singing) Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking. And when she passes, each one she passes goes, ah.

INSKEEP: "The Girl From Ipanema" popularized Brazilian bossa nova in the United States and beyond, thanks to the singing of Astrud Gilberto. It was the first song she ever recorded. It brought her worldwide recognition, but not royalties³. Gilberto died Monday at the age of 83. NPR's Carrie Kahn is in Ipanema, Brazil. She's the reporter from Ipanema.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE⁴: There have been many versions of who asked Astrud Gilberto to sing in English "The Girl From Ipanema." But she says it was her husband, the bossa nova icon⁵ Joao Gilberto, who suggested it while they were in New York in 1963, recording⁶ with the jazz great Stan Getz.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA")

GILBERTO: (Singing) When she walks, she's like a samba that swings so cool and sways so gently.

KAHN: Gilberto was said to have the best English in the room that day. Derisively⁷, Getz took credit for her participation⁸, even cracked at the time that she was just a housewife who got a break. But after that first recording with her husband, she recorded the song solo.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA")

GILBERTO: (Singing) But each day when she walks to the sea, she looks straight ahead, not at he.

KAHN: And in a 1978 interview on WHYY's Fresh Air, Gilberto said what came next was surprising.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

GILBERTO: I had fun doing it, and I enjoy being part of it. But I had never envisioned it as becoming an important thing in my life or a beginning of a career or anything like it.

KAHN: The song would catapult Gilberto and Brazil's bossa nova music onto the American scene. She won the Grammy's record of the year in 1964, and after splitting with her husband, embarked⁹ on a solo career recording dozens of albums. Guitarist Paul Ricci, who confirmed her death from her son Marcelo, says Gilberto was a champion of the New York 1960s and '70s jazz scene, and her soulful sound influenced many artists.

PAUL RICCI: Astrud was the first pop radio voice to sing in that soft microphone, intimate, sensual fashion that engendered¹⁰ everything.

KAHN: Among those, music historians say she influenced artists from Karen Carpenter to Sade. While she was a hit in the U.S., which she later called home, journalist and bossa nova historian Ruy Castro says Brazilians were not kind to her.

RUY CASTRO: (Non-English language spoken).

KAHN: "Brazil was cruel to her and didn't accept her success, but she wisely never looked back," he says, "and made her life and career in the U.S."

These days, Brazilians and tourists alike fondly remember her and her song, especially in the namesake Ipanema neighborhood.

RAFAEL DE MENEZES: (Singing in non-English language).

KAHN: Rafael de Menezes plays his banjo for tips outside the Girl From Ipanema restaurant and bar, a popular stop on the Rio tourist trail. Jose Rodriguez has been waiting tables inside for 15 years and points to the one where two Brazilian songwriters penned the song for a teen they liked to watch walk by.

JOSE RODRIGUEZ: (Singing in non-English language).

KAHN: Most days, he says, he, too, was asked to sing the song for tourist tips.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

KAHN: A block away on Ipanema Beach, where vendors¹¹ sell everything from cookies to strong drinks, Peruvian tourist Leo Rivas was pouring back a caipirinha with his feet in the sand and ready to show off his Portuguese¹² rendition.

WALTER ESCOBAR: (Singing in Portuguese).

KAHN: Rivas says he's saddened by her passing, but as Gilberto herself said when talking about the song's original success, people need romance and something dreamy for distraction¹³ - still true some 60 years later.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA")

GILBERTO: (Singing) And when she passes, he smiles. But she doesn't see.

KAHN: Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Ipanema, Brazil.

(SOUNDBITE OF ASTRUD GILBERTO SONG, "THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 beguiling   

adj.欺骗的，诱人的v.欺骗( beguile的现在分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等）

参考例句：

• Her beauty was beguiling. 她美得迷人。
• His date was curvaceously beguiling. 他约会是用来欺骗女性的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 derisively   

adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地

参考例句：

• This answer came derisively from several places at the same instant. 好几个人都不约而同地以讥讽的口吻作出回答。
• The others laughed derisively. 其余的人不以为然地笑了起来。

8 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

9 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

10 engendered   

v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The issue engendered controversy. 这个问题引起了争论。
• The meeting engendered several quarrels. 这次会议发生了几次争吵。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

13 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。