Bossa nova Bossa nova Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music, which was developed and popularized in the 1950s and 1960s and is today one of the best-known Brazilian music styles abroad. The phrase "bossa nova" means literally "new trend" or "new wave" (). A lyrical fusion of samba and jazz, bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially among young musicians and college students. In Brazil, the word "bossa" is an old-fashioned slang for something that is done with particular charm, natural flair or innate ability. As early as 1932, Noel Rosa used the word in a samba:
Blame It on the Bossa Nova the car stereo when character Alby Grant solicits a male prostitute. David Alan Grier's character, Don 'No Soul' Simmons, covered the song in the end credits for "Amazon Women on the Moon". In the 1993 film "Needful Things" (based on the Stephen King novel of the same name), the lead character says of the havoc he causes in the town of Castle Rock, "Hey, don't blame me. Blame it on the bossa nova." "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" was also recorded by Caterina Valente for her 1965 album "Latin Melodies Old and New" (featuring Edmundo Ros) and by Cliff