Song:Que Pena (Ela Ja Nao Gosta Mais de Nim)
Album:The Definitive Collection
Jorge Ben has been one of Brazil's top singer songwriters since the 60s. He became known here because Talking Heads leader David Byrne is a huge fan and released some of his music on his own label. He is also known as Jorge Benjor. He has been very successful as a songwriter. Que Pena was a big hit for Gal Costa. He was born Jorge Duilio Lima Menezes Mar. 22, 1942 in Rio de Janeiro. He took the name Jorge Ben from his mother's maiden name and in 1989 changed it to Jorge Benjor because his songwriting royalties were mistakenly being sent to George Benson. In 1963, he sang his song Mas Que Nada and signed with Philips Records. He has been with Philips/PolyGram/Universal his entire career. Mas Que Nada became his first hit in Brazil and the 1963 Tamba Trio cover became a hit here. And then Sergio Mendes had a big hit with it in 1966 and again in 2006 when Mendes recorded it with The Black Eyed Peas. Que Pena was on his 1969 album Jorge Ben and Gal Costa's cover was a big hit in Brazil. Ben's song Taj Mahal was the basis for the Rod Stewart hit Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?. But he wasn't given credit and sued successfully for royalties. As I said, David Byrne released Ben's music here and that's when I heard him. So I have been a Jorge Ben fan since the 70s. This comp from the British label Wrasse is a good intro to his music. Wrasse licenses the worldwide rights for all of Universal's World Music. So if you're a fan of Brazilian music, Jorge Ben is a must. Here's Jorge Ben performing Que Pena on MTV Acustico 2002.
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