The song made him a global superstar and helped launched a long, Grammy-winning career.
Born in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro’s sister city, Mendes studied classical music at a conservatory before joining jazz groups.
In the early 1960s, he played Bossa Nova as the genre was heating up and in 1962 he went to New York for a Bossa Nova festival at Carnegie Hall.
During the trip he was signed by Atlantic Records, a break which led Mendes to move to the US two years later.
He formed the group Brazil ’66, and its debut album, produced by Herb Alpert, featured Mas Que Nada, a mid-tempo samba number by Jorge Ben Sor and sung entirely in Portuguese.
It was unlikely hit but it encapsulated the sound of Brazilian music just as the world was faling in love with it.
In 2006, a modern version topped US charts, as performed by Black Eyed Peas.
Mendes’ other hits were an eclectic blend ranging from covers of the Beatles’ The Fool on the Hill and With a Little Help from My Friends, to his own Brazilian chant, Magalenha.
Mendes won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album for Brasileiro and two Latin Grammy Awards.
He also received an Oscar nomination in 2012 for Best Original Song for Real in Rio, from the animated film Rio.
Mendes died on September 5 aged 83. — Agencies
