Blame It On the Bossa Nova

Here's another contribution by Kevin Tracy '65.

Sunday, September 4th, 2011

Blame It On The Bossa Nova

I watched the movie Rio with my grand-daughter Gabby recently. Cute movie and during the movie they played a song that I remembered from the sixties. I wasn't sure but thought it had been done by the group, Brazil 66. A group that had a few hits. A group that had two female singers that I had crushes on. So, I turned to my old friend the Internet and went searching. And, found a treasure trove. The song was by Brazil 66 and I easily located the group singing "live" on YouTube. Loved them then, loved them now. The song was Mas Que Nada. That sent me searching for what I thought was the biggest Brazilian hit back then. Back to YouTube and there it was. Another hit, another crush. 1964 was the year. Astrud Gilberto was the girl. The Girl From Ipanema was the song. Stan Getz on the sax. Okay, I was on a roll and went looking for Blame It On The Bossa Nova. Found it. 1963 was the year. Eydie Gormé was the artist. No crush this time. But, I remembered she was married to Steve Lawrence who also had a hit in 1963, Go Away Little Girl. So, now I was curious to see which song made it to the top, the highest ranking on Billboard 100. Place your bets!

Well, so much for my memory, my crushes, Brazil 66 didn't even crack the top 100. I had bet on Steve Lawrence with Go Away Little Girl. Nope, he got trounced in 1963 by his wife, Edyie Gorme, and Blame It On The Bossa Nova. Steve finished 91 and Eydie came in at number 30 that year. Astrud and friends came in at number 51 in 1964. So, Edyie took home the Brazilian hit song prize from the sixties.

Anyways, Rio is a cute movie to watch with your grandchildren. And my teenage brain thought those Brazilian singers were "hot."

BACK to Main Page