Where do you go to, my lovely?

[Chris Martin]

We all know Gracinha is married to Sergio and is still at the forefront of his varying combos. Lani is married to Herb and still sings (at least she still sang in 1998 with the glorious Brasil Nativo). I wonder about the others:

Geri Stevens
Bonnie Bowden (Amaro)
Sondra Caton
Cruz Baca

From what I can tell, Karen Philip appeared as an actress in M*A*S*H, while my mother, when teaching in the early seventies, confiscated a dirty magazine from some boys and, of course, read it an espied Karen with her diddies out bemoaning that Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66/77 had become too "samey".

Coversely, I think Janis Hansen is now a writer of Christian literature.

Does anyone have any updates rethese and any other of Sergio's gals?

 

[Chris Martin]

P.s. can I become a Diamond Member for posting all these lovely, fragrant new threads? ( )

 

[bc4a&m]

This has been posted here before, but check out bonniebowden.com; she's gone classical on us, and IMHO, with her hair up she looks like Kathie Lee Gifford.

No idea about Sondra Catton, but for those that don't know, she also sang as Sondra Ighner and and is the sister of Bernard Ighner, who wrote "Everything Must Change" and several songs from Sergio's Elektra period....

 

[Chris Martin]

WOW! I didn't know SC was BI's sister! Streisand's reading of Everything Must Change is right up there in my "instant tear-jerkers" Top 10. Sondra had a strong, smokey voice which was unusual in a Mendes vocal line-up. On the back cover of that album (which I've noticed, while googling these singers' names, is often subtitled Davy, to distinguish from other eponymous SM albums) she looks like a bit of a gal! I'm heavily into Looking for a Pure Love as I write, though this is more of a Bonnie-to-the forefront number, and Davy. Bonnie was great too -- in the more honeyed Mendes tradition of vocalists. I can't find any pix of her, Gifford-style or not! I remember being a bit shocked at how much she'd filled out physically between '73 and '75. That's one sturdy leg poking out of the fronds on the Davy album!!!!

 

[Mike Blakesley]

ISn't Cruz Baca married to singer/songwriter Michael Sembello, who contributed to several Sergio albums?

 

[bc4a&m]

ISn't Cruz Baca married to singer/songwriter Michael Sembello, who contributed to several Sergio albums?

Was married, is not anymore......

 

[Chris Martin]

P.s., on the subject of vocalists past and present, I've often wondered why Gracinha Leporace vanished from vocal duties for such a long time after Vintage 74, only resurfacing here and there in a choral capacity in the 80's (few exceptions, Your Smile)... Obviously, she's more to the fore now, but I sometimes think that the two-vocalists-throughout-the-album format (Brasil 66, most of Brasil 77) helped strengthen the album's identity.

 

[Chris Martin]

P.s. For album's read albums'... doh!

 

[JMK]

IIRC, Gracinha either had a problem pregnancy or was ill for some other reason after Vintage 74.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

For Chris Martin - Just a FYI, if you make a typo in a post, you can correct it using the "handy dandy EDIT button" which is in the top right corner of all posts.

Mike B.
Frequent EDIT button user

 

[Chris Martin]

Thanks for that, MB, but I honestly cannot see the edit button.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Hmmm, maybe that's a moderator-only function, but I could swear that all posts should have an edit button (but each user can only edit his own posts.) Rudy?

 

[Dave]

Well, I have an "Edit" Button; which I frequently use, too!



Dave

(Speaking of which...)

 

[JMK]

Isn't Chris in the UK? Maybe it's on the left side over there.

 

[Chris Martin]

In the UK we even edit on the wrong side...

Seriously, can't see it. I'm looking on the post a reply page. Would the edit button simply have the word "EDIT" on it. Do I need to enable or disable something? It sure would help to have an edit button, especially with my clumsy boxing-glove typing skills.

 

[JMK]

Look at your actual post, Chris. Up in the upper right (hopefully, LOL), you'll see two buttons: Quote and Edit. On everyone else's posts you'll see only the "Quote" button.

 

[Chris Martin]

No, alas, I only have a quote button!

 

[Chris Martin]

OMG! It just appeared for the FIRST TIME! Thanks, to whoever intervened!


AND IT WORKS!

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Great! No more typos from you, eh?

This has been another episode of Forum Functionality, where we solve everything from editing posts to tossing your cookies. We now return to your regularly scheduled topic.

 

[Chris Martin]

Well, thanks again for endowing me with the edit facility!

But, yes, back on task: Does anyone agree with my assertion that Mendes albums benefit from a fixed 2-girl line-up of vocalists, making the album more cogent? (Actually, this also works in multiple (more than 2, but not too many) vocal line-ups (Homecooking, New Brasil 77), as long as we have, fundamentally, a fixed vocal line-up, solos permitted.

Sub-topic: I could never get away with the male vocalists, Sergio himself (conditionally) excepted...

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I agree with you on all counts here. I think the main feature that hooked me was the union of various voices. The first album I heard in its entirety was STILLNESS, which features three different solo females, plus Lani/Karen, and Gracinha/Karen (supposedly). After that I heard FOOL ON THE HILL and PAIS TROPICAL, so I was very used to Gracinha's voice as part of the Mendes sound. I didn't really think much about Lani being the "star" of the group in the early years until later on, when I became more aware of "who's who."

So yeah, the two-female-vocalists is really the essence of Sergio's sound for me -- that and the piano.

 

[Cortnee]

After Gracinha appeared on Vintage 74, she really didn't disappear.She did record on Homecooking as uncredited. Gracinha did continue to tour with Sergio from 1975 to 1977.Then she took a break for whatever reason and she had returned to the recording studio in the fall of 1979 to lay down her vocals for Horizonte Aberto.

I don't think she did any uncredited appearances on The New Brasil 77, Brasil 88, or Magic Lady.

 

[Cortnee]

ISn't Cruz Baca married to singer/songwriter Michael Sembello, who contributed to several Sergio albums?

Was married, is not anymore......

I thought Cruz was still married to Michael, they were together for many years it seems. In 1997, Michael & Cruz were still married because they had teamed up for Michael's Brazilian insprired project THE BRIDGE featuring the talents of Daniel Jobim, Nathan Watts, Paulinho DaCosta, Edu Falcao, Tata Vega, Gina Haley, Vinnie Coluita, and Niki Harris.

Since then Cruz has established her own music production company simply titled Cruz Sembello Music Services.

 

[Chris Martin]

I'd forgotten about Horizone Aberto. Also, of course, there was Pele.

I must give Homecooking another spin to try and detect Gracinha...

 

[Cortnee]

I'd forgotten about Horizone Aberto. Also, of course, there was Pele.

I must give Homecooking another spin to try and detect Gracinha...

Hi Chris. I did forget about Pele, thanks for mentioning it.

As for Homecooking, just listen to the song Emorio featuring Leza Miller on lead vocals, Hermeto pascoal on flute, and Gilberto Gil on guitar & guest vocals. You will hear Gracinha singing in the background if you listen carefully. As for the other songs on Homecooking, I don't hear Gracinha, SORRY.