In brief
Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018) was an American lyricist whose career spanned popular songs, film scores, and television themes, marked by collaborations with international composers and domestic hitmakers that yielded multiple Grammy and Academy Awards.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Austrian Jewish immigrant parents, Gimbel studied English literature at Baruch College and Columbia University before entering the music industry as a staff writer for publishers David Blum and Edwin H. Morris. His early successes included lyrics for "Canadian Sunset" (1956), a chart-topping instrumental-turned-vocal hit recorded by artists such as Hugo Winterhalter and the McGuire Sisters, and contributions to Broadway musicals like Whoop-Up (1958). A pivotal shift came in the 1960s when he adapted English lyrics for Brazilian bossa nova compositions, most notably "The Girl from Ipanema" (1963) with Antonio Carlos Jobim, which propelled the genre's popularity in the United States and earned a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965 for Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto's version.
Norman Gimbel was born on November 16, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York City, to Morris Gimbel, a businessman in the restaurant industry, and Lottie (née Nass) Gimbel. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Austria, providing a cultural backdrop rooted in Eastern European Jewish traditions amid the urban immigrant communities of early 20th-century New York.
