Sérgio Mendes, Brazilian Music Legend, Dies at 83

Sérgio Mendes, the Brazilian music icon who crossed over as a pop star in the '60s, has died at 83.

TMZ was first to report his passing.

Mendes, born February 11, 1941, in Rio, was a successful pianist in the '60s who found a wider, international audience with his band Brasil '66. The group exploded with its cover of "Mas que Nada" in 1966, a song that became a signature tune for Mendes after he was signed to Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss's A&M Records.

His first Top 40 pop hit, "The Look of Love" (1968), written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, typefied his bossa nova sound and led to an Oscar nomination.,

Its success was followed by "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair" that year, also Top 40 hits.

After falling out of favor in the '70s, Mendes scored a major comeback in the '80s with his highest-charting hit, "Never Gonna Let You Go," with vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller. It was enough to re-establish him as an adult-contemporary powerhouse.

In 2006, Mendes collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas on a re-recording of "Mas que Nada," a major European hit.

Among his many awards, Mendes won a Grammy for Best World Album in 1993 and a Latin Grammy in 2010. He was honored with a Latin Grammys Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and another Oscar nomination in 2012 for his original song "Real in Rio" from "Rio" (2011).

Mendes is survived by his five children and his wife of over 50 years, Gracinha Leporace, with whom he had collaborated many times.