Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes — ah!
— “The Girl from Ipanema”
She passed away June 7th, didn’t think much about it then other than wow, such an icon. But then a couple of days later I realized something, she was a neighbor. The building she’d been living in for years and years was a three minute walk from where I live. I would have so fanboy’d. Eveyone knows the song, a Grammy winner in 1964, really the song that brought Bossa Nova to American music and from there, the rest of the world. The article encapsulates everything I felt when I heard about her death and then realized that she was living steps away. Very much worth a read if you’re into the music, and the biographical value if you’re not. But come on…
we’ve all heard this song dozens of times Diana Krall, Frank, Ella, Nat, Winehouse, Greg Porter and many more did their versions. The version from Frank is probably the one I’ve listening to most.
Late to the topic but I just used that wonderful song as one of my test tracks during a comparison of six different DACs. When reading about it, I came across this article that sadly illustrates the types of behaviors that she endured, including belittlement, bullying, and betrayal, by the very people who could have lifted her up and celebrated her success.