Sérgio Mendes, the Brazilian musician who brought bossa nova to a global audience in the 1960s with his band Brasil 66, has died at the age of 83 after a long period of COVID-19-related health issues.
Mendes’ family said in a statement that he “died peacefully” in his hometown of Los Angeles. “His wife and musical partner of 54 years, Gracinha Leporache Mendes, and his beloved children were at his side. Mendes performed for the last time in November 2023 before sold-out, enthusiastic audiences in Paris, London and Barcelona,” the family said. “In recent months, his health had been in jeopardy due to the effects of Long Covid.”
Born in Niterói on February 11, 1941, Mendes learned classical piano as a child. His father, a doctor, encouraged him to follow his own path, but changed his mind when he saw Mendes’ budding interest and talent in jazz. “When my father saw me playing and saw that I was doing well in a band, he let me just relax and do what I wanted,” Mendes recalled in a 2005 interview.
Mendes began his music career as a teenager, playing in Rio nightclubs in the late 1950s, just as bossa nova was becoming popular worldwide. Mentored by bossa nova pioneer Antonio Carlos Jobim, Mendes formed the band Sexteto Bossa Rio, which released its instrumental debut album, Danse Moderno, in 1961. Mendes became a sought-after collaborator with American musicians such as Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann, with whom he recorded in the early 1960s.
In 1964, Mendes moved to Los Angeles, signed with Capitol Records, and formed the band Brazil ’65. After releasing two albums but poor sales, the group recruited two singers, Lani Hall and Bibi Vogel, to sing in English and renamed the band Brazil ’66. Produced by Herb Alpert, the album went platinum thanks in part to the success of the single “Mas Que Nada,” and in 2006 Mendes re-recorded with the Black Eyed Peas.
In 1968, Mendes introduced “The Look of Love” to a wider audience when he performed it on the Academy Awards televised broadcast, and Brazil ’66’s version of the song reached the top 10 in the U.S. Mendes became a star, performing for presidents and at the 1970 World’s Fair in Japan, and becoming an international goodwill ambassador for bossa nova. “These are songs that you can naturally relate to,” Mendes said of the genre in 2005. “They make you dream, they make you feel good. They’re very rhythmic, so you can dance, and the melodies are so memorable that you can take them to bed and hum or whistle them.”
Mendes continued to record throughout the 1970s and 1980s, scoring another No. 4 hit in 1983 with an adult contemporary arrangement of the Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil song “Never Gonna Let You Go”. In 2006, Mendes released a comeback album, Timeless, produced by Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. Featuring guest appearances by Erykah Badu, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Justin Timberlake, the album reflects the many underground rap records that sampled Mendes’ music.
Mendes worked on the music for the animated films “Rio” and “Rio 2,” and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2012 for “Real in Rio.” He also won a Grammy for Best World Album in 1992 for “Brasileiro.” Mendes continued working until last year, and his latest album, “In the Key of Joy,” was released in 2019.
He is survived by his wife, Lepores, and five children.
