1968 Sérgio Mendes and Brazil ’66 – Scarborough Fair
He moved to the US and recorded two albums as Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’65. Poor sales in the US resulted from singing the lyrics in Portuguese, and two American female singers were added to his group who could sing fluently in English as well. A&M Records signed the new group, now billed as Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66.
The group’s second single for A&M was Mas Que Nada, which peaked at #47 on the Hot 100. The record did significantly better on the Adult Contemporary (AC) chart, where it reached #4. The pattern of better reception on easy listening radio stations would continue for the group’s entire career.
They had six more top forty singles on the AC chart before finally reaching the top forty on the Hot 100 in 1968. The Look Of Love and The Fool On The Hill reached #4 and #6 on the Hot 100 and the latter topped the AC chart.
One more record in 1968 did well on the Hot 100. The group covered Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair, and their single peaked at #15 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the AC chart. It was the last time the group reached the top forty on the pop chart until 1983.
The band placed seven more singles in the AC top forty by 1970. Sérgio left A&M Records and released two more successful easy listening singles in 1973. Brazil ’66 briefly became Brazil ’77 in 1974, but it was a long time before more hits arrived.
Sérgio once again recorded for A&M Records In 1983 and the result was Never Let You Go, a single that went to the top of the AC chart and peaked at #4 on the Hot 100.
An additional half-dozen singles placed on the AC chart; the last of these listed his band as Brazil ’86.
In 2006, Sergio recorded a new version of Mas Que Nada with the help of The Black Eyed Peas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9rgio_Mendes
My books are on sale on Amazon (or free with Kindle Unlimited) and contain a lot more Lost or Forgotten Oldies. You can visit my author page to see them and you can read them for free with Kindle Unlimited!
What Was Left In 