Who was Astrud Gilberto? The Brazilian singer who died aged 83 and only made $120 from her hit song

'The Girl From Ipanema' singer Astrud Gilberto has died at the age of 83. The news that the Brazilian singer had died on June 5 was confirmed by close family friend Paul Ricci who had been instructed by her son Marcelo to share the news. 

In a social media post he wrote: “She was an important part of ALL that is Brazilian music in the world and she changed many lives with her energy.”

Astrud was a samba and bossa music singer best known for the song ‘The Girl From Ipanema’. 

The song was originally written by Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim with Portuguese lyrics. But it was Astrud’s 1964 version of the song that made it an international hit. Astrud had no recording vocalist experience at the time. 

The song was awarded a Grammy for ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Best Vocal Performance by a female.’ It sold over a million copies and received a gold disc. Despite the success Astrud according to the Independent only made $120 which was the standard session fee.

Astrud was born in Brazil and married songwriter and composer João Gilberto in 1959 and the couple had their son João Marcelo Gilberto. They moved from their hometown to America in 1963 where João worked and recorded songs with Antonio and American Saxophone player Stan Getz. 

Astrud and João divorced in the 60s and she married her second husband with whom she shares a son Gregory Lasorsa. Both of her sons went on to play instruments in Astrud’s band alongside their mother. 

The Jazz Cat reported that Astrud and Stan had an affair but when her husband found out he ended their relationship and the pair never worked together again. 

Astrud had other hits although not as hugely successful compared to ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ including ‘The Shadow of Your Smile’, 'Look to the Rainbow' and 'Beach Samba'. She recorded songs in seven languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Japanese.

Astrud was awarded the USA Latin Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992. Although she never officially retired, Astrud announced in 2002 that she would be taking ‘indefinite’ time off from public performances.