Farewell to Sergio Mendes, the Brazilian musician was 83 years old

Sergio Mendesthe Brazilian singer, songwriter, bandleader and keyboardist who rose to fame after moving to the United States in the 1960s, died at the age of 83 in Los Angeles yesterday, Thursday, September 5. According to a statement from the Mendes family, the musician’s “health had been severely tested by the effects of long COVID.”

He was born in the Brazilian city of Niterói on February 11, 1941. He released his first album, “Modern Dance”in 1961 as bossa nova was taking hold.

Tours in North America and Europe led to collaborations with .Cannonball Adderley And Herbie Mannthen moved to the United States, where he trained Sergio Mendes & Brazil ’65. Despite their success in South America, the group’s first two albums sold poorly in North America. The song that brought them success was “But What“Nothing”written by the samba legend Jorge Ben.

“More Than Nothing”
gave Mendes a prestige that reached its peak in 1968, when he performed a cover of
Burt Bacharach
And
Hal David “The Look of Love”
at the Academy Awards. Sergio Mendes won the Grammy Award in the category Best World Music Album in 1993 with the album
“Brazilian”
. During his career he has collaborated with many artists, among which we can mention
Stevie Wonder, Milton Nascimento, Seu Jorge, John Legend and the Black Eyed Peas
in a remix of
“More Than Nothing”
. His latest album,
“In the Key of Joy”
dates back to 2019.