" Summer Samba" (also known as " So Nice" or its original Portuguese title, " Samba de Verão") is a 1964 bossa nova and jazz standard song by composer Marcos Valle, with English language lyrics by Norman Gimbel; the original Portuguese lyrics are by Paulo Sérgio Valle, the composer's brother.[ Marcos Valle on AllBrazilianMusic.com]
Walter Wanderley Trio
The song was first popularized by the
Walter Wanderley in 1966 — the album
Rain Forest on which it was issued reached
platinum record in 1970
[ (retrieved 15 February 2007)][Irwin Chusid. ] —
Allmusic has said of Wanderley's version, "His recording ... is regarded as perhaps a more definitive bossa tune than "Girl From Ipanema."
[Thom Jurek, Boss of the Bossa Nova (album review), Allmusic (retrieved 28 March 2007)] In 1966, Wanderley's version was the biggest seller in the U.S., reaching #26 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Easy Listening chart.
The composition is still a favourite on
Adult Standards radio stations.
Covers
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On the United States "Easy Listening" chart, there were versions by Johnny Mathis, Vikki Carr, and Connie Francis during that same year. In fact, at least one source claims that three different versions were on the Billboard charts at the same time in 1966.
[ Marcos Valle, 1943 (in German)]
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Andy Williams released a version in 1966 on his album, In the Arms of Love. The Angels released a version of the song in 1967 entitled "So Nice" as the B-side to their "Merry Go Round". Other notable versions include those by Astrud Gilberto and by Bebel Gilberto, both of which have been used in several television programs and in widely broadcast TV advertisements. A slower version was put out by Brasil '65 with Wanda de Sah and Sergio Mendes. As of 2000, the song had been recorded by more than 180 different artists worldwide.
[Gollner, Adam. "Two scoops of samba: A pair of Brazilian heavyweights import some tropical heat,", Montreal Mirror, 30 March 2000]
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The song was covered by Emma Bunton in 2004 and was released as a b-side on the commercial CD single to her single "Crickets Sing For Anamaria" (also written by Marcos Valle), taken from her critically acclaimed second album, Free Me. This song features the Hammond B-3 organ, a staple of the sixties in the recording studio.
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The song appears in the film as well as Click. It also is a major theme in the game Destroy All Humans!, largely as an intentional music joke when the player idles for over five minutes, as the video game is set in 1959, five years before the song's release.
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A cover by Thailand singer Nadia appears in the 2002 film Blissfully Yours.
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Eliane Elias included the song in her 2004 album Dreamer.
See also
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List of bossa nova standards
Notes
External links
