September 9, 2024 | 12:00am
When I was just starting to write lyrics, my favorite collaborator, the composer and producer Willy Cruz, came to me with a suggestion. “You write Tagalog lyrics to this song and then let’s find somebody to record it.” That song was So Many Stars by Sergio Mendez and the Brasil ’66. I thought it was so beautiful.
I did the lyrics. It came out as Sabihin Mong Mahal Mo ‘Ko and we found the perfect singer, Baby de Guzman Cruz. She was the girl soloist of Joe Cruz & the Cruzettes, which was then the resident band at the Tap Room of the Manila Hotel. The group was famous for their Latin-styled takes on Filipino songs.
Baby and the Cruzettes did a fantastic job on my adaptation of So Many Stars. The song became part of the album titled Manilatin, which was released by the Vicor label. To this day, that recording remains one of my favorites from my adaptation period. Of course, I also felt proud I got to do a song by Sergio Mendes with original words by the great team of Alan and Marilyn Bergman.
The music of Mendes was sophisticated but cool enough for the younger crowd to also like. It was Latin but arranged in a funky way and when orchestral can be absolutely enchanting.
The late ‘60s and the ‘70s saw Mendes’ recordings in the hit charts of the world. It was no different hereabouts. In fact, almost every lounge singer around had several of his songs in their set lists because his distinctive arrangements never failed to delight audiences.
Mendes was born in Brazil on Feb. 11, 1941. The son of a successful physician, he entered the music conservatory to become a concert pianist but fell in love with jazz. He then left school and was soon leading his own band in Rio de Janeiro’s popular night spots. This popularity led to opportunities to record and perform in the US of A.
His big breakthrough came about in 1966, hence the name of his band, Sergio Mendes and the Brasil ’66, with the perky Mas Que Nada. He found more success when he heeded the advice of producer and hitmaker Herb Alpert of the Tijuana Brass. Remember Alpert’s The Lonely Bull and the Spanish Flea to include songs in English in his repertoire. Lani Hall was the lead singer of Brasil ’66.
So Mendes started taking on popular tunes and arranging them in his own style. And there was no stopping his rise to the top after that. In fact, his cover recordings often became the definitive versions of the songs and led people to think of them as Mendes originals.
It was The Look of Love composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and performed by Dusty Springfield from the James Bond flick “Casino Royale” got that this ball rolling. Soon, he was taking on The Beatles with Fool on the Hill, Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair, even Little Anthony and the Imperials’ Going Out of My Head, and Michel Legrand’s Watch What Happens.
There were also Never Gonna Let You Go, With a Little Help from my Friends, Waiting for Love, What Do We Mean to Each Other, Take This Love, Olympia, Alibis, Look Around, the utterly divine The Trouble with Hello is Goodbye and many others.
The last chartbuster from Mendes was a new take on Mas Que Nada, as a collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas for his album Timeless. The success of the single proved that his music is, indeed, timeless.
Mendes passed away last Sept. 5 in his home in Los Angeles after a long bout with COVID-19. He is survived by his wife, the Brazilian singer Grahinda Laporace.
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