ASTRUD GILBERTO & STAN GETZ - The Girl From Ipanema

In 1964, The Girl From Ipanema was recorded in New York City by Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz. The song was written in 1962 by Antonio Carlos Jobin - a influential composer that helped to create bossa nova style - and by Vinicius de Moraes, who wrote the original Portuguese lyrics. Getz recorded the song as part of an album with Joao Gilberto - the father of bossa nova. When recording the song, Gilberto's wife - Astrud - was talked into singing the vocals on the song - she had never recorded anything in her life. The album won two Grammys. Before this song, Ipanema was a relatively unnoticed stretch of beach in Rio De Janeiro. The song was written about a 19-year old girl in a bikini that regularly walked by a bar the songwriters frequented, buying cigarettes for her mother. After revealing the identity of the girl in the worldwide hit, the girl - Helo Pinheiro - exploited her title by posing in Brazilian Playboy twice - one time with her daughter. She later opened a boutique that she named after the title of the song - her title. This brought a lawsuit for using the name without permission. Pinheiro argued the title had been bestowed to her by the songwriters - she won the case. The Girl From Ipanema is one of the most recorded songs in history - it has been recorded by almost 250 artists.