The surprising story behind Sérgio Mendes’ best-known song

Sérgio Mendes, who died in September 2024, was one of the biggest stars of Brazilian music. Although his career spanned some 40 years, he has always been known for his runaway 1966 hit, “Mas Que Nada”. At the time, Mendes had been working in clubs around Rio de Janeiro, meeting icons such as Antônio Carlos Jobim, who co-wrote The Girl from Ipanema. One night at the Bottles Club, he saw a singer play a catchy tune he had written. The young man was Jorge Ben, and the song was “Mas Que Nada”.

“I loved the melody,” Mendes later told Dave Simpson in a Guardian interview. “For my version, I changed the arrangement and tried to make it even more melodic. I put a band together called Brasil ’66. I’d always had instrumental groups, but when I added the two female singers – Lani Hall and Bibi Vogel – it made a different kind of sound.”

The definitive version of the song was recorded in Los Angeles. The singers – both American – sang phonetically as neither spoke Portuguese. Mendes liked the version but had no idea what was about to happen. Once the song started getting airplay, it became a huge success and went on to become the first global hit in Portuguese. It benef[itted from the huge popularity of the bossa nova at the time.

Where did “Mas Que Nada” come from?

What Mendes did not know is that the song already had a story behind it. A key element of the song is the chant, “Oh aria ray – Obá, Obá, Obá” in the chorus. There are different interpretations of the song. For some, it is simply a celebration of life through samba. For others, it is a disguised homage to the Obá divinity. Jorge Ben has not been clear which it is.

Another intriguing element is that the same chant first appeared in a 1955 song called “Nanã Imborô” by José Prates. The theme is clearly whistled throughout the song. Prates was a well-known figure in his own right. It is not known what he felt about the similarity, and he died several years ago.

“Mas Que Nada” went on to have life of its own, as it has been covered by countless performers and was notably the subject of a major remix by the Black Eyed Peas in 2006.

(Michael Leahy/ Photo: © A&M Records)

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