Astrud Gilberto / Walter Wanderley - So Nice (Summer Samba) Verve Records 1966

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Summer Samba (also known as So Nice or its original Portuguese title, "Samba de Verão") is a 1966 bossa nova song by Brazilian composer Marcos Valle, with English-language lyrics by Norman Gimbel; the original Portuguese lyrics came from Paulo Sérgio Valle, brother to the composer.

The song was first popularized by the Walter Wanderley Trio in 1966 — the album Rain Forest on which it was issued reached platinum status in 1970 — also reaching the U.S."Easy Listening" chart in 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. Allmusic has said of Wanderley's version, "His recording ... is regarded as perhaps a more definitive bossa tune than "Girl From Ipanema." Wanderley's version was the biggest seller in the U.S., reaching #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, (#3 on the Easy Listening chart) , and is still a favourite on Adult Standards radio stations.

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. As of the year 2000, the song had been recorded by more than 180 different artists worldwide.

Astrud Gilberto (March 29, 1940 – June 5, 2023) was a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer and songwriter. She gained international attention in the mid-1960s following her recording of the song "The Girl from Ipanema".

Astrud Gilberto was born Astrud Evangelina Weinert, the daughter of a Brazilian mother and a German father, in Salvador in the Brazilian state of Bahia, on March 29, 1940. She was raised in Rio de Janeiro. Her father was a language professor, and she became fluent in several languages.

She married João Gilberto in 1959. His affair with Miúcha, a Brazilian singer, caused the couple's separation. According to the Associated Press, their marriage ended in divorce in 1964;[6] but a 2019 Facebook post by their son, João Marcelo Gilberto, said they had "merely separated" and never divorced. Astrud Gilberto had another son, Gregory LaSorsa, with a second partner; Gregory performed music with his mother.

Gilberto later reportedly had an affair with her husband's musical collaborator, Stan Getz, a saxophonist, during a tour in 1964, which was reported on extensively by the Brazilian press. She later regretted her decision to tour with Getz, who mistreated her, and stated that she had done so because of dire financial need in the wake of her divorce. She described the experience as "tortuous". She immigrated to the United States in 1963 and settled there permanently.

Astrud sang two songs on the 1963 album Getz/Gilberto, featuring João, Getz, and Antônio Carlos Jobim. While it was her first professional recording, Astrud Gilberto was not entirely a novice. She grew up immersed in music; her mother played multiple instruments. Gilberto sang often with João in Brazil, including a concert performance at the Faculdade de Arquitetura, part of one of the leading universities in Rio de Janeiro. Her whispery voice and steadfast approach to singing played a significant role in popularizing "The Girl from Ipanema", earning a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and a nomination for Best Vocal Performance by a Female.

Gilberto's original recording of "Fly Me to the Moon" was featured with Frank Sinatra's version on the soundtrack of Down with Love (2003). Her recording "Who Can I Turn To?" was sampled by the Black Eyed Peas in the song "Like That" from their 2005 album Monkey Business. Gilberto's vocals on "Berimbau" were sampled by Cut Chemist in his song "The Garden". Her recording of "Once I Loved" was featured in the 2007 film Juno. On Basia's 1987 debut album, Time and Tide, the track "Astrud" is a tribute to her idol Gilberto.

She was the recipient of the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Gilberto died at home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 5, 2023, aged 83.

Astrud's accompanied by Jose Marino (bass); Claudio Slon (drums); and Bobby Rosengarden (percussion).

Someone to hold me tight
That would be very nice
Someone to love me right
That would be very nice
Someone to understand
Each little dream in me
Someone to take my hand
To be a team with me

So nice, life would be so nice
If one day I'd find
Someone who would take my hand
And samba through life with me

Someone to cling to me
Stay with me right or wrong
Someone to sing to me
Some little samba song
Someone to take my heart
And give his heart to me
Someone who's ready to
Give love a start with me

Oh yes, that would be so nice
Should it be you and me
I can see it would be nice

Someone to cling to me
Stay with me right or wrong
Someone to sing to me
Some little samba song
Someone to take my heart
And give his heart to me
Someone who's ready to
Give love a start with me

So nice, that would be so nice
Should it be you and me
I can see it could be nice