Astrud Gilberto Dead: Cause of Death of 'Girl from Ipanema' Singer

The 83-year-old bossa nova singer Astrud Gilberto, well known for her instantly recognizable version of "The Girl From Ipanema," has passed away.

Her passing on June 5 was verified by Gilberto's son Marcelo to The Independent. Her death's cause wasn't made public. Gilberto began her career in the 1960s and during the course of her career, she was able to chrun out 16 studio albums and two live records.

She was born Astrud Evangelina Weinert in Salvador, Bahia.

The fact that Gilberto covered the 1962 Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vincius de Moraes song "Garota de Ipanema" was purely coincidental. On March 18, 1963, American saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist Joo Gilberto recorded "The Girl from Ipanema" in English.

The song was motivated by Jobim and de Moraes' desire for the adolescent girl who frequently passed their neighborhood bar near Ipanema beach, Helosa Pinheiro. Astrud Gilberto was the one who offered to sing on the track when it was suggested that Joo, whom she had married in 1959, interpret the lyrics that Norman Gimbel had translated from Portuguese to English, according to A&R engineer Phil Ramone, who oversaw recording in New York in 1962.

Ramone revealed to JazzWax in 2010 that Astrud was present in the control room when Norm entered with the English lyrics. "Producer Creed Taylor stated that he needed to finish the tune right away and surveyed the space. Astrud offered to sing in English and said she could. Great, Creed said.

Although Astrud wasn't a trained vocalist, she was the lone victim present that evening. The song went on to become a worldwide smash, selling more than five million copies globally and raising awareness of bossa nova music on a global scale. On the 1964 album Getz/Gilberto, Gilberto contributed to two tracks. Her vocals on "The Girl from Ipanema" earned her a Grammy award for Best Vocal Performance by a Female.

The song itself took home the Song of the Year Grammy. Speaking to The Independent last year, Marcelo, who collaborated on recordings and performances with Gilberto along with half-brother Gregory, asserted that Gilberto suffered with the objectification she experienced from the media and that she was underappreciated and underpaid for her efforts throughout her life. Just $120 in session fees were paid to her for her work on "The Girl from Ipanema".