Pery Ribeiro

Pery Ribeiro (27 October 1937 – 24 February 2012) was a Brazilian singer of bossa nova, MPB and jazz, active from 1959 until shortly before his death.

Biography Pery Ribeiro was born Peri Oliveira Martins on 27 October 1937, son of the singer Dalva de Oliveira (1917–1972) and singer-songwriter Herivelto Martins (1912–1992).

Ribeiro began his performing career as a child, dubbing the title character in the Walt Disney movie Bambi. In addition, he participated in the incomplete Orson Welles film It's All True. In 1944, Ribeiro appeared as an actor in the musical comedy film "Berlim na batucada", by Luís de Barros. This film was a satire of Orson Welles' passage through Brazil while filming "It's All True" (the same film in which Ribeiro appeared) and the United States' "good neighbor" policy.

Ribeiro's career as a singer did not begin until 1959. Ribeiro was working as a camera operator for TV Tupi, when he was invited to appear on the program of Paulo Gracindo on Rádio Nacional.

Ribeiro was one of the first singers to record the classic bossa nova song "Garota de Ipanema" (The Girl from Ipanema), recording it in January 1963 for Odeon. The song was part of Ribeiro's second LP, "Pery é todo bossa" (Pery is all bossa). The book became the source of a television miniseries on TV Globo in 2010.

Ribeiro died on 24 February 2012, of a heart attack, in Rio de Janeiro. Shortly before his death, Ribeiro completed work on an album of duets with twenty-two other artists in homage of Wilson Simonal.

Critical reception

In 2012, Ribeiro was ranked among the 100 best Brazilian singers of all time by Rolling Stone Brasil (at #64). The magazine provided the following assessment of Ribeiro's career: "Possibly the most underestimated Brazilian singer, Pery Ribeiro ... became one of the leading voices of bossa nova. ... Skill, precision, refinement, musical intelligence – Pery had all this to spare, and sang all styles."

Discography 1965: Gemini V (with Leny Andrade) 1967: Gemini V en Mexico (with Leny Andrade) 1972: Gemini Cinco Anos Depois (with Leny Andrade)

Selected filmography Berlin to the Samba Beat (1944)