"Desafinado" (a Portuguese word, usually rendered into English as "Out of Tune", or as "Off Key") is a 1959

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovat ...

song and

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive li ...

composed by

Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian mu ...

with lyrics (in Portuguese) by

Newton Mendonça Newton Ferreira de Mendonça (February 14, 1927 – November 22, 1960) was a musician, composer, and lyricist. He began as a pianist in 1950. Mendonça was born in Rio de Janeiro. In 1953 he started working with Antônio Carlos Jobim, somethi ...

Background

"Desafinado" was originally a response to critics who claimed that bossa nova was a new genre for singers who can't sing. The English language lyrics were written by

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...

and "Jessie Cavanaugh" (a pseudonym used by The Richmond Organisation). Another English lyric, more closely based on the original Portuguese lyric (but not a translation) was written by

Gene Lees Frederick Eugene John Lees (February 8, 1928 – April 22, 2010) was a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist, and journalist. Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States, where he was a music ...

, and appears on some recordings as well.

Chart performance

The version by

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre ...

and

Charlie Byrd Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album ''Jazz Samba'', ...

(from the album ''

Jazz Samba ''Jazz Samba'' is a bossa nova album by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd released by Verve Records in 1962. ''Jazz Samba'' signaled the beginning of the bossa nova craze in America. Stan Getz was the featured soloist and the tracks were arranged by Char ...

'') was a major hit in 1962, reaching number 15 and number 4 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

''′s pop and easy-listening charts, respectively; their definitive rendering also reached number 11 in the UK.

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

's version made number 38.

Accolades

The song was voted by the Brazilian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' as the 14th greatest Brazilian song. The 1959

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was of ...

album ''

Chega de Saudade "Chega de Saudade" (), also known as "No More Blues", is a bossa nova jazz standard. It is often considered to be the first bossa nova song to be recorded. Like " The Girl from Ipanema", the music for "Chega de Saudade" was composed by Antônio C ...

'' contained the song and was inducted into the

Latin Grammy Hall of Fame The Latin Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize "early recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that were released more than 25 years ago". LARAS is also the same organiz ...

in 2001.

References

External links

Jazzstandards.com

1959 songs Bossa nova songs Brazilian songs 1950s jazz standards Bossa nova jazz standards Ella Fitzgerald songs Frank Sinatra songs George Michael songs Kali Uchis songs Portuguese-language songs Songs with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Songs with lyrics by Newton Mendonça Latin Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients {{1950s-jazz-composition-stub

Background

Chart performance

Accolades

See also

References

External links