Stan Getz w/Astrud Gilberto--The Girl from Ipanema (1964)

     The story for this song begins in a seaside suburb of Rio de Janerio in 1962. Musicians Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes were writing about a girl they would see just about every day. The girl, later identified as 17 year old Helo Pinhero, would walk into the Veloso cafe-bar to buy cigarettes for her mother to the admiration of many of the men in the cafe, incluing Jobim and Moraes. The next year Jobim began a collaboration with tenor sax player Stan Getz, guitarist Joao Gilberto and Gilberto's wife Astrud.
     Actually Astrud wasn't suppose to be a part of the proceedings at all, but while working on "The Girl from Ipanema" it was decided to record the vocals in English rather than Portuguese. Astrud was the only singer in their circle who could speak the language, so although she had never sung publicity or had any sort of vocal training, it was her voice that was put on the record.
     The song not only became a hit for the trio, but it launched the career of the young Astrud and the song has become a true classic of mid-60s pop. Although amazingly reclusive (she hasn't done an interview in over 25 years), she had continued to record and tour up until 2002. You can read more on her webpage; http://www.astrudgilberto.com/