Music Legend Dies After Suffering Long-Term COVID-19 Complications: Sergio Mendes Was 83

Sergio Mendes, the Brazilian Grammy-winning musician who helped bring the bossa nova music of his native Brazil to a global audience with hits like “Mas Que Nada,” has died. Mendes passed away “peacefully” in Los Angeles on Thursday, Sept. 5 after battling the effects of long Covid for several months, according to a statement from his family shared on his social media channels.

“His wife and musical partner for the past 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, was by his side, as were his loving children,” the statement read. “Mendes last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona. For the last several months, his health had been challenged by the effects of long term COVID.”

Born on Feb. 11, 1941, in Niterói, Brazil, according to his website, Mendes’ start in music began with conservatory training with the goal of becoming a classical pianist. However, after hearing Dave Brubeck Quartet’s record “Take Five,” he developed a passion for jazz and soon began playing in local trios and quartets throughout the late ’50s, around the same time as the revolution of bossa nova. He went on to form the Bossa Rio Sextet, recording the LP Voce ainda nao ouviu nada (You haven’t heard anything…yet) and traveling across Brazil and the world with the group. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1962, finding recognition with his group Brasil ’66 and their 1966 Portuguese-language single “Mas Que Nada” and their 1967 hit, “The Look of Love.”

Throughout his six-decade-long career, Mendes collaborated with musicians like Herb Albert, Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, and Stevie Wonder, before later working with the likes of the Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, and Pharrell Williams. He recorded more than 35 albums, scoring hits with songs like “Scarborough Fair,” “Night and Day,” and “Never Gonna Let You Go.”

Mendes won the Grammy for best world music album for his 1992 album Brasileiro. He later received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2005, and won the Grammy for Brazilian contemporary pop album for Bom Tempo in 2010. He received an Oscar nomination in 2012 for Best Original Song for “Real in Rio,” from the 2011 animated film Rio.

Mendes’ family remembered him as “one of the most internationally successful Brasilian artists of all time,” adding that the signer “leaves us with an incredible musical legacy from more than six decades of a unique sound first showcased by his band Brasil ’66.” They added, “the family is processing this loss and more details regarding funeral and memorial services will be provided at a later date.”

Mendes is survived by his wife of 50 years, Gracinha Leporace; their two children, Tiago and Gustavo; his three older children from his first marriage, Bernardo, Rodrigo, and Isabella; and seven grandchildren.