The Girl from Ipanema Trivia Quiz

Answer:

"The Girl from Ipanema" (Girl from Ipanema) is a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz song, which became a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s. The song was written in 1962.

The history goes that in this year, great friends and musicians Vinicius de Moraes (1913-1980) and Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) were walking along Ipanema beach, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, when they came across a beautiful girl who was walking calmly through the sand towards the sea. Despite being a typical scene, the beauty of the beach and the beauty of the young woman caught the musicians' attention. They decided to celebrate the moment with a song.

Tom Jobim wrote the score, and Vinicius de Moraes wrote the lyrics. The original title was "Menina que Passa" (The Girl Who Passes By) which was rejected for being too melancholic and was changed to "Garota de Ipanema" (The Girl from Ipanema). The first commercial recording in Brazil was from January 1963, when the singles from Pery Ribeiro and Tamba Trio were released simultaneously.

In 1963, in the United States, an instrumental version of "The Girl from Ipanema" was the first track on the album "The Composer of Desafinado, Plays".

In 1964 the song with Portuguese lyrics, sung by the Brazilian singer and composer João Gilberto (1931-2019) was released in the album "Getz/Gilberto". During a recording session with the American saxophonist Stan Getz (1927-1991), the idea of releasing an English version of the song came up. The American lyricist and songwriter Norman Gimbel (1927-2018) was entrusted with the task.
João Gilberto's wife at the time, Astrud Gilberto (1940-2023) who had never sung professionally, was added on vocals. Her smooth voice combined with the sound of the sax played by Stan Getz made the song perfect. In the United States, the single had immediate success, occupying first place on the "Billboard Hot 100", on the "Easy Listening Chart" and charting high around the world.

"The Girl from Ipanema" has been recorded by countless artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole. The song has appeared in many movies and at many events. It is believed that "The Girl from Ipanema" is the second most recorded pop song in history, after "Yesterday" by the Beatles.

The "real" girl from Ipanema is Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto (1945-), best known as Helô Pinheiro. She was 17 years old and lived in the Ipanema Beach neighborhood when she was the inspiration for Moraes and Jobim. She became famous for the song, had a career as a model, artist, and television presenter, and is currently a businesswoman. Today, in 2023 when this quiz was written, the muse Helô Pinheiro is a beautiful lady reaching her 80s.