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Sérgio Mendes, the Brazilian music icon who was a pop star in the 1960s, has died at the age of 83.
TMZ was the first to report his death.
Born in Rio on February 11, 1941, Mendes found success as a pianist in the 1960s and gained a wider international audience with his band, Brazil ’66, which had a big hit in 1966 with a cover of “Mas que Nada,” which became Mendes’ signature song after he signed to Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss’ A&M Records.
His first Top 40 pop hit, “The Look of Love” (1968), written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, typified his bossa nova sound and was nominated for an Oscar.
That success was followed that same year by Top 40 hits “The Fool on the Hill” and “Scarborough Fair.”
After a decline in popularity in the ’70s, Mendes made a huge comeback in the ’80s with the hit “Never Gonna Let You Go,” featuring Joe Pizzuro and Leesa Miller, which re-established him as an adult contemporary star.
In 2006, Mendes collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas to re-record their European hit “Mas que Nada.”
Mendes has received numerous awards, including Best World Album in 1993 and a Latin Grammy in 2010. He also received a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and was nominated for an Academy Award again in 2012 for his original song “Real in Rio” from the film Rio (2011).
Mendes is survived by his five children and his wife of more than 50 years, Gracinha Leporache, with whom he performed alongside many co-stars.
