Astrud Gilberto sang for $120 — Getz STOLE her royalties and kept the Grammy

She wasn't supposed to sing. She was just the wife of one of the musicians — a woman who happened to speak English in a New York recording studio in 1963. Someone had the idea. She walked up to the microphone. One take. The song became the most recognizable piece of Brazilian music ever recorded. Astrud Gilberto was twenty-three years old. She had never recorded professionally. She was paid $120 — the standard session rate for a musician. She received no royalties. And Stan Getz later asked the producer to cut her out of the profits entirely. This is the story of how a housewife from Salvador became the voice of bossa nova — and why the music industry made sure she never got credit for it. #AstrudGilberto #GirlFromIpanema #BossaNova #BrazilianMusic #MusicHistory #StanGetz #GetzGilberto #WorldMusic