Desafinado

Jobim and Newton Mendonça wrote Desafinado in 1959. The title means Out of Tune or Off Key, and the song answered critics who claimed bossa nova was made for singers who cannot sing. João Gilberto included it on his 1959 album Chega de Saudade. Andy Beta of Pitchfork calls it one of the trickiest songs of the 20th century, with no verse-chorus structure, 74 measures and more than 20 chords.

Getz and Charlie Byrd opened Jazz Samba with it. Chris McGowan describes it starting with a bass line from Keter Betts and understated percussion before Getz enters. Released as a single in 1962, it reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Easy Listening chart and number 11 in Britain. Getz recorded it again on Getz/Gilberto, where it runs 4:09 and, in Beta's words, gets a definitive reading.

Other versions

Beta notes that in 1962 alone Quincy Jones and Byrd both covered it, as well as Herbie Mann, Herb Alpert and Chubby Checker. Jon Hendricks wrote English lyrics that Ella Fitzgerald recorded on a 1962 single, and Gene Lees wrote another English version. The Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone voted it the 14th greatest Brazilian song.