"Mas, que Nada!" is a song written and originally performed in 1963 by Jorge Ben on his debut album Samba Esquema Novo, which became Sérgio Mendes' signature song in his 1966 cover version. It was voted by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone as the fifth greatest Brazilian song. It was inducted to the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013.
Title meaning
Brazilians use Mas que nada colloquially to disagree with someone. A fitting English translation might be a sarcastic "Yeah, right!". With many recordings, the title song is incorrectly written Mais que nada which would fundamentally alter its meaning. Also it should not be confused with the Spanish más que nada, which means "more than anything", or "above all", and is used in the sense of "mainly" or "principally".
Prates version
In 1958, Brazilian artist José Prates recorded a track called "Nanã Imborô" that appears on his album Tam... Tam... Tam...!, which features the same melody later heard in Jorge Ben Jor's "Mas, que Nada!", especially the Sergio Mendes version.
covered the song with his band Brasil '66 on their debut album Herb Alpert PresentsSergio Mendes & Brasil '66. In the United States, the single reached number 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number four on the BillboardEasy Listening chart. This 1966 version is the best-known and, to many, the definitive version of the song. In 1989, Mendes re-recorded the song on his album Arara; in Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. In 2006, Mendes again re-recorded the song, this time with The Black Eyed Peas and additional vocals by Mendes' wife, Gracinha Leporace, for his album Timeless. This version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The record performed well on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at number 29 and peaked at number six on its second week on the chart. The song appeared as part of the EA Sports2006 FIFA World Cup Germany and NBA Live 07 video games. This version was also included in the 2011 animated film Rio and its soundtrack, an episode of 90210, in the 2012 video game Just Dance 4, and was also featured in Over Her Dead Body during the opening of the film.
Track listing
"Mas Que Nada" – 3:33
"Mas Que Nada" – 8:03
"Mas Que Nada" – 2:41
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
Other uses
The song is used in Disney's Animal Kingdom, "Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade" in Orlando, Florida, and in the films Joe Versus The Volcano, Rio and . The song is also used in a 1998 Nike advertisement, featuring the Brazilian national football team playing football in an airport. Professional darts player Diogo Portela uses the song as his walk-on music.
Other versions
Other Brazilian artists who recorded the song include Elza Soares and :pt::Maria Creuza|Maria Creuza.
Hugh Masekela included the song in his 1966 live album The Americanization of Ooga Booga.
Dizzy Gillespie included a cover version on his albums The Melody Lingers On and Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac.
A Moog version is featured on Perrey and Kingsley's album, .
Lill Lindfors recorded a Swedish-language version titled Hör min samba for her album Du är den ende.
Warren Kime recorded a version, track number one, on his Brass Impact album RS 910 SD and R4T3-910 issued in 1967.
A rumba version is featured on the album Patato & Totico by Patato Valdes and Totico Arango.
Pink Martini and Saori Yuki released the album 1969 in 2011. "Mas que Nada" is track number eight.
The Chopsticks, a Hong Kong female duo, covered this song on their first LP The Chopsticks: Sandra and Amina.
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it on her 1971 album Things Ain't What They Used to Be .
Klaus Wunderlich under the pseudonym Chris Waxman released a spirited version during this period, performed on the Hammond organ, for the opening track on a special phase four stereo album Organized .
Bossa nova singer Sitti from the Philippines did a remake of this song, which is included on her album, Café Bossa.
Al Jarreau also did a cover version on his 1994 album Tenderness.
UK garage singer Colour Girl recorded her version featuring MC PSG in 2001.
French jazz guitarist Marc Antoine performed an instrumental version on his album Cruisin.
Serbian jazz and pop singer Madame Piano also covered it in 2001. and included it on her second studio album Zemlja čuda, while Croatian cellist Walter Despalj did an arrangement of the song for a group of cellos.
British singer Ava Leigh covered the song for her debut album, Rollin. It was released as a double A-side with "Mad About the Boy". This version has recently been used in UK television commercials for clothing chain Next.
Jessy J recorded a cover of this song in her album Tequila Moon.
Covered by Jane McDonald in her seventh album Jane in 2008.
The Slovenian XL vocal group Perpetuum Jazzile performed the song in a cappella arrange at Vokal Xtravaganzza.
Jazztronik has recorded a cover of this song, including the electric jazz and bossa nova instrumentation on its album Vamos la Brasil.
French girl group Nossa released a cover of this song as a single in 2012.
