Hit songs memorialize extraordinary women

One of the most popular songs in music history is “The Girl from Ipanema,” a gift to the world from Brazil. The tune ranked as the second most played song of the 20th century, trailing only “Yesterday” by The Beatles.

Helô Pinheiro is keeping score, for she is the one-and-only “girl from Ipanema.”

As a teenager, known as Helô de Menezes at the time, she would walk daily to Ipanema Beach, on the south side of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to enjoy the sun, sand and surf along the South Atlantic Ocean.

Observing as she walked by Veloso, a local café, one day in 1962 were composer Antonio Carlos (Tom) Jobim and poet Vinicius De Moraes.

Dagnabbit. What a beauty they proclaimed…and proceeded to write a song on bar napkins about the “girl from Ipanema” and set it to a romantic bossa nova beat. The recording featured vocalist Pery Ribeiro.

“I couldn’t believe it, “Pinheiro said. “This song is about me? It can’t be. I’m so average, even thin.”

In 1963, Norman Gimbel wrote the English lyrics for the song. Jobim and the legendary saxophonist Stan Getz brought in Brazilian João Gilberto, known as the “father of the bossa nova,” to help produce an album featuring “The Girl from Ipanema.”

Jobim played the piano for the album while Gilberto sang in Portuguese. His wife, Astrud Gilberto, who was bilingual, was selected to sing along in English. The duet was released in 1964, and the song climbed to the top spot on Billboard magazine’s “adult contemporary” chart.

Younger generations were introduced to “The Girl from Ipanema,” as the centerpiece of the opening ceremonies at the 2016 Summer Olympics, known as Rio 2016. Portraying the dramatic role of Helô Pinheiro was Gisele Bündchen, a Brazilian super-model and wife of Tom Brady, an all-pro football quarterback in the National Football League.

At Rio 2016, the spotlight zoomed in as Bündchen walked the walk. She strode across the stage in the highest of heels, wearing a spectacularly sparkly evening gown, as Jobim’s grandson, Daniel Jobim, performed “The Girl from Ipanema.”

Helô Pinheiro, now in her mid-70s, said she was honored to be selected as one of the Olympic torchbearers for the Rio Olympics. She stays busy as a volunteer ambassador for Brazilian tourism.

She is the mother of four children and had a successful career as a professional model, television talk show anchor, actress and entrepreneur.

“The Girl from Ipanema” brought Helô Pinheiro instant fame. “I’ll be walking down the street and somebody will come up behind me and start whistling the song,” she says. “Even after all these years, I still get a kick out of it.”

Barbara Ann Fassert Rizzo was another “woman of song” who was instantly recognized during her lifetime.

“Barbara-Ann” was recorded in 1961 by The Regents, a five-member doo-wop vocal group from the Bronx in New York City. Chuck Fassert was the second tenor, and his older brother, Fred Fassert, wrote the song. They previewed the song for their younger sister, Barbara Ann Fassert, who was 13 at the time.

“When they sang my name, I was so excited,” Barbara Ann said. “I thought, ‘I’m a movie star!’” As an adult, she would say: “Whenever the song plays in public, I blush. I feel the same way I did the first time I heard it – amazed.”

“Barbara-Ann” reached Number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the song proved to be the biggest hit for The Regents. “Barbara Ann” was covered by the Beach Boys in 1965 (dropping the hyphen) and peaked at Number 2.

Barbara Ann Fassert married Pat Rizzo, and the couple had three children. The Rizzos lived in West Nyack, N.Y., and owned a small chain of supermarkets. They retired in 2004 and moved to Palm Beach, Fla. Barbara Ann Rizzo died in 2010, at age 63.