People may associate pop music 50 years ago in 1967 as being about the Beatles and the Sgt. Peppers album, the Summer of Love, the Monterrey Music Festival, the Doors and "Light My Fire" and the likes, but for me as a college freshman, 1967 was all about Brazilian music, which A&M Records played a leading part.
With the passing of the late, great Janis Hansen this year I couldn't help but feel what the Portuguese and Brazilians call saudade, that is, a bittersweet nostalgia and sentimentality about the past. And 1967 represents a high point for the sounds of Brazil in the USA. Here is a sampler of my Brazilian musical memories of 1967:
On A&M, Brasil 66 recorded two masterful albums--Equinox and Look Around, with two classic musical pillars, Lani Hall singing "Like a Lover" and Janis Hansen singing "The Look of Love."
On A&M, the TJB released a recording of Chico Buarque's "A Banda." Herb Alpert was always recognizing the best of Brazilian music, after all he was the producer of the first three Brasil 66 albums. And remember the TJB's recording of Jorge Ben's "Zazueira" in 1969?
On A&M, Antonio Carlos Jobim released the album "Wave." And in 1967 he recorded an album with Frank Sinatra and appeared on a Sinatra TV special.
Marcos Valle and Quarteto em Cy appeared on the Andy Williams Show.
Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme recorded an album "Steve & Eydie, Bonfa and Brazil," with all Bonfa compositions. Bonfa the noted composer of "Samba de Orfeu" and "Manha de Carnaval" from the movie Black Orpheus, also accompanied Steve and Eydie on the guitar with the ultra talented Eumir Deodato as arranger.
Vikki Carr released an album "Intimate Excitement" with six Brazilian songs including a great recording of "No Balanco Do Jequibau" (Pretty Butterfly.) She had a smash hit in '67 of "It Must Be Him" written by Gilbert Becaud. The Frenchman Becaud indirectly had an A&M connection as his song "Et Maintenant" was entitled "What Now My Love" in English and became an enormous hit for the TJB in 1966.
Herb Alpert with the TJB hosted a fantastic episode of the Hollywood Palace in 1967 with Brasil 66 and other A&M recording artists as guests. Also appearing were Burt Bacharach, the Baja Marimba Band, Wes Montgomery and Liza Minnelli. You will never see such a talented lineup on TV like that again.
You could hear the above songs and many others with the Brazilian sound on all Easy Listening AM radio stations and sometimes even on Top 40 stations. Those were the days.
Today 50 years later I'll let you decide if popular music is better than it was in 1967. In 1967, Brazilian music represented the best of melody, harmony and rhythm. Today all you're apt to hear on radio or portable devices is the beat, with the words to songs apt to be spoken and not sung. Today anyone who can put their face before a microphone is called a recording artist. What a joke that is. Many of these so-called "artists" need to have their voices "electronically enhanced" before their music can be released. Today you can have computerized technology and electronic keyboards to replicate and replace acoustic instruments in the recording studio. I can pick out all the fake and unnatural sounds of electronic strings and drum machines etc. in a second. Today recordings are made with the cold digital sound in place of the warm sounds of analog as in 1967. Today it's impossible to hear Brazilian music anywhere on the radio for a mass audience. So you have to search the internet to find web sites that stream Brazilian music. By the way go to jazzradio.com and click on Bossa Nova for some incredible music.
With the passing of the late, great Janis Hansen this year I couldn't help but feel what the Portuguese and Brazilians call saudade, that is, a bittersweet nostalgia and sentimentality about the past. And 1967 represents a high point for the sounds of Brazil in the USA. Here is a sampler of my Brazilian musical memories of 1967:
On A&M, Brasil 66 recorded two masterful albums--Equinox and Look Around, with two classic musical pillars, Lani Hall singing "Like a Lover" and Janis Hansen singing "The Look of Love."
On A&M, the TJB released a recording of Chico Buarque's "A Banda." Herb Alpert was always recognizing the best of Brazilian music, after all he was the producer of the first three Brasil 66 albums. And remember the TJB's recording of Jorge Ben's "Zazueira" in 1969?
On A&M, Antonio Carlos Jobim released the album "Wave." And in 1967 he recorded an album with Frank Sinatra and appeared on a Sinatra TV special.
Marcos Valle and Quarteto em Cy appeared on the Andy Williams Show.
Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme recorded an album "Steve & Eydie, Bonfa and Brazil," with all Bonfa compositions. Bonfa the noted composer of "Samba de Orfeu" and "Manha de Carnaval" from the movie Black Orpheus, also accompanied Steve and Eydie on the guitar with the ultra talented Eumir Deodato as arranger.
Vikki Carr released an album "Intimate Excitement" with six Brazilian songs including a great recording of "No Balanco Do Jequibau" (Pretty Butterfly.) She had a smash hit in '67 of "It Must Be Him" written by Gilbert Becaud. The Frenchman Becaud indirectly had an A&M connection as his song "Et Maintenant" was entitled "What Now My Love" in English and became an enormous hit for the TJB in 1966.
Herb Alpert with the TJB hosted a fantastic episode of the Hollywood Palace in 1967 with Brasil 66 and other A&M recording artists as guests. Also appearing were Burt Bacharach, the Baja Marimba Band, Wes Montgomery and Liza Minnelli. You will never see such a talented lineup on TV like that again.
You could hear the above songs and many others with the Brazilian sound on all Easy Listening AM radio stations and sometimes even on Top 40 stations. Those were the days.
Today 50 years later I'll let you decide if popular music is better than it was in 1967. In 1967, Brazilian music represented the best of melody, harmony and rhythm. Today all you're apt to hear on radio or portable devices is the beat, with the words to songs apt to be spoken and not sung. Today anyone who can put their face before a microphone is called a recording artist. What a joke that is. Many of these so-called "artists" need to have their voices "electronically enhanced" before their music can be released. Today you can have computerized technology and electronic keyboards to replicate and replace acoustic instruments in the recording studio. I can pick out all the fake and unnatural sounds of electronic strings and drum machines etc. in a second. Today recordings are made with the cold digital sound in place of the warm sounds of analog as in 1967. Today it's impossible to hear Brazilian music anywhere on the radio for a mass audience. So you have to search the internet to find web sites that stream Brazilian music. By the way go to jazzradio.com and click on Bossa Nova for some incredible music.