Georgia Gibbs
Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitzin on 17 August 1919 in Worcester, Mass… Read Full Bio ↴Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitzin on 17 August 1919 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA – 9 December 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz.
Gibbs was the youngest of four children of Russian Jewish immigrant parents.Her father died when she was six months old, and she spent her first seven years in an orphanage in Worcester, separated from her other siblings.
She revealed a natural talent for singing at a very young age, and was given the lead in the orphanage's yearly variety show. She was reunited with her mother (who had visited her once every other month) when the latter found employment as a midwife. However, her job often forced her to leave her daughter alone for weeks at a time with only a Philco radio for company.
Gibbs began her professional career at the age of thirteen, and was singing in Boston's Raymor Ballroom the following year. She cut her first record with the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra in 1936 (aged 16 or 17). "You don't really know loneliness unless you do a year or two with a one-night band, Gibbs said of her life on the big band circuit. sing until about 2 a.m. Get in a bus and drive 400 miles. Stop in the night for the greasy hamburger. Arrive in a town. Try to sleep. Get up and eat." (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, May 12, 1994.)
She soon found steady work on popular radio shows including Your Hit Parade, Melody Puzzles and The Tim And Irene Show. Gibbs freelanced in the late 1930s and 1940s singing with the bands of Frankie Trumbauer, Hal Kemp, Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw. It was with Shaw's band (then billed as Fredda Gibson) that she scored her first hit, Absent Minded Moon (1942).
In 1943, she changed her name to Georgia Gibbs and began appearing on the popular Camel Caravan radio program, hosted by Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore (it was Moore who bestowed the famous nickname "Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs" upon her). The nickname is a playful reference to her diminutive stature of barely over 5 feet. She was a regular performer on this show until 1947.
Gibbs signed with Majestic Records in 1946, and while she recorded many great records she would have to wait until 1950 for her first hit single, If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Baked A Cake (on the Coral label). During this period she also was the featured singer on tours with comedians Danny Kaye and Sid Caesar. Miss Gibbs had a natural talent for comedy as well, and worked well in support of the immensely popular Kaye. But success as a singer continued to elude her. As noted in a 1952 Time article:
"Georgia," they kept telling her, "you gotta get a sound." Musical soothsayers were trying to get Songstress Georgia Gibbs into line with the latest fashion. Perhaps, they thought, she should sing mechanized duets with herself (like Patti Page), or she might try an echo chamber background (like Peggy Lee). But gimmicks were not Georgia Gibbs's cup of tea. She had a big, old-fashioned voice, a good ear, a vivacious personality, and she knew how to sing from the shoulder. She would stick with plain Georgia Gibbs.
And she eventually had success "sticking with plain Georgia Gibbs". Possessed of a versatile voice, she cut a long list of great records in every category from torch songs to rock-and-roll, to jazz, swing, old fashioned ballads and cha-chas. Her most successful record was Kiss Of Fire which reached the #1 position on the pop music charts in 1952. Kiss of Fire was adapted from the Argentinian tango El Choclo and the lyrics, arrangement and delivery communicate passion on a Wagnerian scale. It immediately became one of the defining songs of the era.
Sultry and throbbing, with a touch of vibrato, Georgia Gibbs' voice is best showcased on romantic ballads and torch songs like Melancholy Baby, I'll Be Seeing You, Autumn Leaves and You Keep Coming Back Like A Song. Yet she could be equally thrilling belting out a red hot jazz numbers like Red Hot Mama and A-Razz-A-Ma-Tazz, or jiving with tunes like Ol Man Mose and Shoo Shoo Baby. Her Swingin' With Her Nibbs album (1956) demonstrated her natural affinity for improvisation as well.
Gibbs continued to be a frequent visitor to the charts throughout the first half of the decade (with over 40 charted songs), and was briefly successful doing rock 'n' roll songs as well. She appeared on many television shows throughout the decade, including the legendary Ed Sullivan show, and hosted one of her own, Georgia Gibbs And Her Million Record Show. She cut her final album, Call Me (1966) and rarely performed after that.
She spent many years being best known for her cover versions of Etta James' The Wallflower (recorded by Gibbs with modified lyrics under the title Dance With Me Henry) and of LaVern Baker's Tweedle Dee (which created some ado due to Ms. Baker's vociferous complaints) and for her novelty number The Hula Hoop Song, which was her last hit, in 1958.
Georgia Gibbs died of leukemia on December 9, 2006, aged 87, at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Gibbs was the youngest of four children of Russian Jewish immigrant parents.Her father died when she was six months old, and she spent her first seven years in an orphanage in Worcester, separated from her other siblings.
She revealed a natural talent for singing at a very young age, and was given the lead in the orphanage's yearly variety show. She was reunited with her mother (who had visited her once every other month) when the latter found employment as a midwife. However, her job often forced her to leave her daughter alone for weeks at a time with only a Philco radio for company.
Gibbs began her professional career at the age of thirteen, and was singing in Boston's Raymor Ballroom the following year. She cut her first record with the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra in 1936 (aged 16 or 17). "You don't really know loneliness unless you do a year or two with a one-night band, Gibbs said of her life on the big band circuit. sing until about 2 a.m. Get in a bus and drive 400 miles. Stop in the night for the greasy hamburger. Arrive in a town. Try to sleep. Get up and eat." (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, May 12, 1994.)
She soon found steady work on popular radio shows including Your Hit Parade, Melody Puzzles and The Tim And Irene Show. Gibbs freelanced in the late 1930s and 1940s singing with the bands of Frankie Trumbauer, Hal Kemp, Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw. It was with Shaw's band (then billed as Fredda Gibson) that she scored her first hit, Absent Minded Moon (1942).
In 1943, she changed her name to Georgia Gibbs and began appearing on the popular Camel Caravan radio program, hosted by Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore (it was Moore who bestowed the famous nickname "Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs" upon her). The nickname is a playful reference to her diminutive stature of barely over 5 feet. She was a regular performer on this show until 1947.
Gibbs signed with Majestic Records in 1946, and while she recorded many great records she would have to wait until 1950 for her first hit single, If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Baked A Cake (on the Coral label). During this period she also was the featured singer on tours with comedians Danny Kaye and Sid Caesar. Miss Gibbs had a natural talent for comedy as well, and worked well in support of the immensely popular Kaye. But success as a singer continued to elude her. As noted in a 1952 Time article:
"Georgia," they kept telling her, "you gotta get a sound." Musical soothsayers were trying to get Songstress Georgia Gibbs into line with the latest fashion. Perhaps, they thought, she should sing mechanized duets with herself (like Patti Page), or she might try an echo chamber background (like Peggy Lee). But gimmicks were not Georgia Gibbs's cup of tea. She had a big, old-fashioned voice, a good ear, a vivacious personality, and she knew how to sing from the shoulder. She would stick with plain Georgia Gibbs.
And she eventually had success "sticking with plain Georgia Gibbs". Possessed of a versatile voice, she cut a long list of great records in every category from torch songs to rock-and-roll, to jazz, swing, old fashioned ballads and cha-chas. Her most successful record was Kiss Of Fire which reached the #1 position on the pop music charts in 1952. Kiss of Fire was adapted from the Argentinian tango El Choclo and the lyrics, arrangement and delivery communicate passion on a Wagnerian scale. It immediately became one of the defining songs of the era.
Sultry and throbbing, with a touch of vibrato, Georgia Gibbs' voice is best showcased on romantic ballads and torch songs like Melancholy Baby, I'll Be Seeing You, Autumn Leaves and You Keep Coming Back Like A Song. Yet she could be equally thrilling belting out a red hot jazz numbers like Red Hot Mama and A-Razz-A-Ma-Tazz, or jiving with tunes like Ol Man Mose and Shoo Shoo Baby. Her Swingin' With Her Nibbs album (1956) demonstrated her natural affinity for improvisation as well.
Gibbs continued to be a frequent visitor to the charts throughout the first half of the decade (with over 40 charted songs), and was briefly successful doing rock 'n' roll songs as well. She appeared on many television shows throughout the decade, including the legendary Ed Sullivan show, and hosted one of her own, Georgia Gibbs And Her Million Record Show. She cut her final album, Call Me (1966) and rarely performed after that.
She spent many years being best known for her cover versions of Etta James' The Wallflower (recorded by Gibbs with modified lyrics under the title Dance With Me Henry) and of LaVern Baker's Tweedle Dee (which created some ado due to Ms. Baker's vociferous complaints) and for her novelty number The Hula Hoop Song, which was her last hit, in 1958.
Georgia Gibbs died of leukemia on December 9, 2006, aged 87, at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
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Georgia Gibbs Lyrics
A Kiss Of Fire I touch your lips and all at once the sparks…
After You've Gone Now won't you listen honey, while I say, How could…
Ain't That a Shame Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Autumn Leaves The falling leaves drift by the window The autumn leaves of…
Blueberries One day while I was picking blueberries I met a boy…
Cry If your sweetheart sends a letter of goodbye It's no secret…
Dance With Me Hey baby, what do I have to do to make…
Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower) You gotta dance with me Henry all right baby Dance with…
Dance With Me Henry Wallflower Hey baby, what do I have to do to make…
Dream A Little Dream Of Me Stars shining bright above you Night breezes seem to whisper…
Happiness Street Why am I happy, why am I gay Me and my…
He's Funny That Way Once she dressed in silks and lace, Owned a Rolls…
How Are Things In Glocca Mora I hear a bird, Londonderry bird, It well may be he's…
How Are Things In Glocca Morra I hear a bird, Londonderry bird, It well may be he's…
How Are Things in Glocca Morra? I hear a bird, Londonderry bird, It well may be he's…
I Got It Bad And That Ain' Good Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears …
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
I Love Paris I love Paris in the springtime I love Paris in the…
I Miss You Well, well, well, look who's here. I haven't seen you in…
I Want You to Be My Baby I, I want, I want you I want you to…
I'd've Baked a Cake Well, well, well, look who's here. I haven't seen you in…
I'll Be Seeing You I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places That…
I'm Walking the Floor Over You I'm walkin' the floor over you I can't sleep a wink,…
I've Got A Letter Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
If I Had You I could show the world how to smile I could be…
If I Knew You Were Comin Well, well, well, look who's here. I haven't seen you in…
If I Were A Bell Ask me how do I feel, Now that we're cosy and…
Ill Be Seeing You I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places That…
It Had to Be You It had to be you, it had to be you. I…
It's the Talk of the Town We were more than lovers, We were more than sweethearts, It'…
Kiss Fire I touch your lips and all at once the sparks…
Kiss Me Another La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La-La Kiss me another K…
Kiss of Fire I touch your lips and all at once the sparks…
Let Me Dream Stars shining bright above you Night breezes seem to whisper…
Lonesome Road Look down, look down that lonesome road Before you travel o…
On The Sunny Side Of The Street Walked with no one and talked with no one And I…
One For My Baby I, I want, I want you I want you to…
Play A Simple Melody Won't you play some simple melody Like my mother sang to…
Rock Right Rock right Soon as you get off the train Rock right Til you…
Seven Lonely Days Seven lonely days make one lonely week Seven lonely nights m…
Silent Lips Silent lips speak to me Don't keep me waiting Silent lips sa…
Simple Melody Won't you play some simple melody Like my mother sang to…
Somebody Else When days are long and nights are lonely And all my…
Somebody Loves Me When days are long and nights are lonely And all my…
Sweet and Gentle I was sweet and gentle (She was sweet and gentle) Kind of…
The Bridge Of Sighs Nie patrząc na mnie trzymasz dłoń Przeczuwam czego możesz ch…
The Hula Hoop Song Hula hoop, hula hoop, anyone can play the hula hoop Hula…
The Hula-Hoop Song Hula hoop, hula hoop, anyone can play the hula hoop Hula…
The Kiss of Fire I touch your lips and all at once the sparks…
The More I See You Each time I look at you is like the first…
The One I Love When days are long and nights are lonely And all my…
The Trolly Song "Clang, clang, clang" went the trolley "Ding, ding, ding" w…
Tra La La Rock bop bop... Tra la la, tra la la You're as…
Trolly Song "Clang, clang, clang" went the trolley "Ding, ding, ding" w…
Tweedle Dee Tweedle dee dee, tweedle dee dee Tweedle dee dee, tweedle de…
Venice Blue I saw Venice turn blue Before my very eyes I saw Venice…
Wallfowerdance With Me Henry Hey baby, what do I have to do to make…
Way Way Down Once she dressed in silks and lace, Owned a Rolls…
While You Danced Danced Danced I walked in with a smile I walked with a…
You'Re Doint' It It had to be you, it had to be you. I…