Grammy-winning Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes dead at 83

Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes has died at 83.

The cause is reportedly health challenges related to long-term Covid. 

Mendes’s family told the Guardian in a statement that he “passed away peacefully” in his Los Angeles home. 

“His wife and musical partner for the past 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, was by his side, as were his loving children,” they said. 

“Mendes last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona,” they added.

“For the last several months, his health had been challenged by the effects of long term Covid.”

The Brazilian superstar had a career spanning more than 30 albums released across six decades. 

Mendes was known for bringing bossa nova — a style of samba — to an international audience in the 1960s with his band Brasil ’66. 

With hits like “Mas Que Nada” and “Magalenha,” Mendes helped shape the modern crossover Brazilian pop.  

“It was completely different from anything, and definitely completely different from rock ’n’ roll,” Latin music scholar Leila Cobo said in the 2020 HBO documentary “Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy.” 

She added, “But that speaks to how certain Sergio was of that sound. He didn’t try to imitate what was going on.”

Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, in 1941. He began playing in clubs and performing with mentors such as Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto, before forming his first band, the Sexteto Bossa Rio. 

With that band, he released his debut album in 1961, “Dance Moderno.” 

By 1964, he moved to Los Angeles, signed  with Capitol Records, and formed the band Brasil ‘65. After adding American singers Lani Hall and Bibi Vogel and changing their name to Brasil ‘66, they found success.

Their album, “Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66,” went platinum. It had the single  “Mas que Nada,” which Mendes rerecorded with the Black Eyed Peas in 2006.  

His wife, Gracinha Leporace, replaced Lani Hall in 1966. 

In 1962, Mendes played the first bossa nova festival at Carnegie Hall.

“When you’re young, you don’t think about the long-term future or anything like that. The first time I came was the bossa nova concert at Carnegie Hall with Jobim and Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz and so many others. I was like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe it.” I was 22 years old. Love at first sight,” he told Spin in a 2021 interview.

He also performed with Frank Sinatra. 

“I was very lucky to have worked with Sinatra. I did two tours with him – one in America and one in Europe,” he told The Line Of Best Fit in a 2023 interview. 

“We played at the Royal Albert Hall for about two weeks, and I was the opening act for him. So I saw him every night in Europe, and here in America, and we became very good friends.”

Mendes was known for mixing original songs with bossa nova covers of popular English-language songs, including the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” and Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s Dusty Springfield hit, “The Look of Love.”

That song helped him reach a wider audience when he performed it at the 1968 Academy Awards. It had been nominated for an Oscar for the James Bond movie “Casino Royale” that year. 

His version of the Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil song, “Never Gonna Let You Go,” was also a hit in 1983. 

Mendes won a Grammy for best world album for “Brasileiro” in 1992.

In recent years, he helped produce the music for the animated movies “Rio” (2011) and “Rio 2” (2014). 

In 2019, he released his final album, “In the Key of Joy.” 

In his 2021 interview with Spin, Mendes said, “I tell young musicians just embrace your dream and keep walking and keep going. Perseverance is very important. It’s really about your passion. Just be with it.”

When asked what his greatest achievement was, he said, “I don’t think it was one thing. I think it was the whole journey. I’m very, very proud of it and very happy that I met and collaborated with so many different artists from different cultures and different ages,” citing Sinatra, The Black Eyed Peas, Common and John Legend.

“It’s my curiosity and the discovery and the wonderful thing of encountering people that you go to the studio with them, magic happens.”

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Gracinha, their two children, Tiago and Gustavo; three children from his first marriage, Bernardo, Rodrigo and Isabella; and seven grandchildren.