A Banda (Ah Bahn da)

"A Banda (Ah Bahn-da)" is a composition by Chico Buarque that was first performed live by Chico Buarque and Nara Leão, in 1966, during the II Música_Popular_Brasileira (MPB) Festival in TV Record's theater, São Paulo, when and where the song won the "Viola de Ouro" award for best composition. A Banda brought Chico Buarque immediately into the limelight in Brazil. The song was also released in 1966, on the Brazilian RGE label, as the first track of side 1 in "Chico Buarque de Hollanda (Vol. 1)" LP. The following year Astrud Gilberto brought the song to the US, recording it with English lyrics on the Verve/Copacabana label, crediting Bob Russell for the English lyrics. As an instrumental, the song was performed by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, who had their third and final number one on the Easy Listening chart in October 1967. It peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.