Everyone has that one song that will forever be No.1 in our hearts. A song we know every word to, regardless if we have the track backing us or not. The familiarity is so intimate that we know it like the back of our hand. Music, generally, seeps through the deepest recesses of everyone’s souls and makes a mark that stays with us for many years. Thanks to our favorite artists, we have access to songs that may be the most magnificent ones ever composed. However, there is one other person who we should also express our gratitude to – the muse. They are people who served as inspiration to the artists who penned these classics. The muse is the true magician. If there was no muse, these songs may have not come into existence. Without any more delay, here are the backstories of people who have inspired our most loved tunes.
“The Girl from Ipanema” by Astrud Gilberto with João Gilberto and Stan Getz (1964)
Along the coast of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in 1962, that’s where this tale begins. 17-year-old Heloisa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto, also known as Helô Pinheiro, caught the attention of the hit song’s composers. She was on one of her daily walks when she passed by the Veloso café. Pinheiro’s sultry features commanded the attention of both men and women. Initially titled “Menina que Passa” (or The Girl Who Passes By), this popular track talks about beauty during the years of youth and how the feeling of sorrow is brought about when youth fades. The Bossa Nova tune brought Pinheiro into the spotlight as well. She got into modelling and opened her own bikini store in São Paulo. She was also featured on the cover of Brazilian Playboy in 1987 and again in the year 2003 when she was 59.
“The Girl From Ipanema” By Astrud Gilberto With João Gilberto And Stan Getz 1964
“Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond (1969)
Many people believed that Neil Diamond was inspired to write “Sweet Caroline” by Life Magazine’s cover from September 7, 1962. The cover featured four-year-old Caroline Kennedy horseback riding. In five years’ time, Diamond composed the track apparently thanks to that feature. However, Diamond only spilled the beans about the story behind the tune 42 years later. The CBS Early Show had Diamond on as a guest and it was here where he chose to reveal that the track is in fact about Martha, his ex-wife, but he was in need of a female name with only three syllables for the melody, therefore Caroline was born.
“Sweet Caroline” By Neil Diamond 1969
