Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes, the iconic figure who introduced bossa nova to a global audience in the 1960s with his band Brasil ’66, passed away at 83. His family announced that Mendes died due to health complications related to long-term COVID-19.
In a statement, Mendes’s family shared that he “passed away peacefully” in Los Angeles, his home for many years. “His wife and musical partner for the past 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, was by his side, as were his loving children. Mendes last performed in November 2023 to sold-out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London, and Barcelona,” the statement continued. “For the last several months, his health had been challenged by the effects of long-term Covid.”
Born on February 11, 1941, in Niterói, Brazil, Mendes started studying classical piano as a child. His father, a doctor, initially hoped he would follow in his footsteps, but Mendes’s growing passion and talent for jazz changed that course. “When he saw me play and saw that I was doing well with bands, he’d kind of lay back and let me do my thing,” Mendes recalled in a 2005 interview.
Mendes began his career in the late 1950s, performing in Rio de Janeiro nightclubs at the height of the bossa nova movement. He was mentored by bossa nova pioneer Antônio Carlos Jobim and formed the band Sexteto Bossa Rio. He released his first instrumental album, “Dance Moderno,” in 1961. Mendes quickly became a sought-after collaborator for American jazz musicians, recording with notable figures like Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann.
In 1964, Mendes moved to Los Angeles and signed with Capitol Records, forming the band Brasil ’65. After two albums with low sales, Mendes revamped the group by recruiting singers Lani Hall and Bibi Vogel to perform in English, renaming the band Brasil ’66. Their self-titled album, produced by Herb Alpert, went platinum, primarily due to the success of the hit single “Mas Que Nada,” which Mendes would later re-record in 2006 with The Black Eyed Peas.
Mendes’s performance of “The Look of Love” during the 1968 Academy Awards broadcast helped Brasil ’66’s version of the song hit the U.S. Top 10, propelling him to international stardom. Mendes went on to perform for U.S. presidents and at the Japan World Expo in 1970, becoming a global ambassador for Bossa Nova. “You can relate to it organically,” Mendes said of the genre in 2005. “It makes you dream, and it makes you feel good.”
Mendes continued to record music throughout the 1970s and 1980s, earning another hit in 1983 with his adult contemporary take on “Never Gonna Let You Go,” which reached #4 on the charts. In 2006, he released a comeback album, “Timeless,” produced by Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas, which featured collaborations with artists such as Erykah Badu, Q-Tip, Common, Stevie Wonder, and Justin Timberlake.
Mendes’s contributions extended to film, where he helped produce music for the animated films Rio and Rio 2 and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song in 2012 for “Real in Rio.” He also won a Grammy for Best World Music Album for “Brasileiro” in 1992. His most recent album, “In the Key of Joy,” was released in 2019, and he continued performing until late 2023.
Mendes is survived by his wife, Gracinha Leporace, and their five children.