"Corcovado" (known in English as "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars") is a bossa nova song and jazz standard written by Antônio Carlos Jobim in 1960. English lyrics were later written by Gene Lees.
“Corcovado,” which translates as “hunchback,” is the name of the mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro, a 700-meter peak capped by an almost 40-meter statue of Jesus Christ a symbol of the city. But when Gene Lees wrote English lyrics to Jobim’s song, he decided that hit songs need something other than a mountain, hunchback, or Jesus Christ in the title, and renamed “Corcovado” as “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” often shortened to “Quiet Nights.” (Gioia, Ted. The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire (Page 72). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition).
Notable recordings:
João Gilberto, from The Legendary João Gilberto , 1960
Miles Davis (with Gil Evans), from Quiet Nights , 1962
Cannonball Adderley (with Sérgio Mendes), from Cannonball’s Bossa Nova , 1962
Stan Getz (with João Gilberto), from Getz/Gilberto , 1963
Frank Sinatra and Antônio Carlos Jobim – Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. 1967
Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim, from Elis & Tom , 1974