Few female jazz singers matched the hard-swinging and equally hard-living Anita O'Day for sheer exuberance and talent in all areas of jazz vocals. Her improvising, wide dynamic tone, and innate sense of rhythm made her more than just another big-band canary. At a time when most female vocals tended to emphasize the sweet timbres of their voice, she chose to emphasize a path blazed by the one major jazz singer who emphasized message over medium - Billie Holiday. Like Holiday, O'Day combined the soaring freedom of jazz instrumentalist with the storytelling lyricism of a poet.
After making her solo debut in the mid-'40s she incorporated bop modernism into her vocals and recorded over a dozen of the best vocal LPs of the era.
During the late Forties, she recorded two dozen sides, mostly for small labels. The quality of these singles varies: O'Day was trying to achieve popular success without sacrificing her identity as a jazz singer. Among the more notable recordings from this period are "Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip", "Key Largo", "How High the Moon", and "Malaguena". O'Day's drug problems began to surface late in 1947, when she and husband Carl Hoff were arrested for possession of marijuana and sentenced to 90 days in jail. Her career was back on the upswing in September of 1948, when she sang with Count Basie at the Royal Roost in New York City, resulting in five airchecks. What secured O'Day's place in the jazz pantheon, however, are the seventeen albums she recorded for Verve between 1956 and 1962.
Her first album, Anita O'Day Sings Jazz (reissued as The Lady Is a Tramp), was recorded in 1956 for the newly established Verve Records (it was also the label's first LP). The album was a critical success and further boosted her popularity. In October of 1952 O'Day was again arrested for possession of marijuana, but found not guilty. The following March, she was arrested for possession of heroin. The case dragged on for most of 1953; O'Day was finally sentenced to six months in jail. Not long after her release from jail on February 25, 1954, she began work on her second album, Songs by Anita O'Day (reissued as An Evening with Anita O'Day). She recorded steadily throughout the Fifties, accompanied by small combos and big bands. In person, O'Day was generally backed by a trio which included the drummer with whom she would work for the next 40 years, John Poole.
As a live performer O'Day also began performing in festivals and concerts with such musicians as Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson, Dinah Washington, George Shearing, Cal Tjader, and Thelonious Monk. She appeared in the documentary Jazz on a Summer's Day, filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival which increased her popularity. The following year O'Day made a cameo appearance in The Gene Krupa Story , singing "Memories of You". Late in 1959 she toured Europe with Benny Goodman; according to her autobiography, when Goodman's attempts to upstage her failed to diminish the audience's enthusiasm, he cut all but two of her numbers from the show.
After the Goodman fiasco, O'Day went back to touring as a solo artist. She recorded infrequently after the expiration of her Verve contract in 1962 and her career seemed over when she nearly died of a heroin overdose in 1968. After kicking the habit, she made a comeback at the 1970 Berlin Jazz Festival. She also appeared in the films Zig Zag (1970) and The Outfit (1974). She resumed making live and studio albums, many recorded in Japan, and several were released on her own label, Emily Records.
O'Day spoke candidly about her drug addiction in her 1981 memoir, High Times, Hard Times.
Her version of the standard, "Sing, Sing, Sing" was remixed by RSL and was included in the compilation album Verve Remixed 3 in 2005.
2006 saw her first album release in 13 years, entitled Indestructible!.
Angel Eyes
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Still it's uncomfortably near
My own heart ain't gainin' no ground
Because my angel eyes ain't here
Angel eyes that old devil sent
They glow unbearably bright
Need I say that my love's mis-spent
So drink up, drink up all you people
And order anything you see
Have fun you happy people
The drink, and the laugh's, on me
Pardon me, but I gotta run
The fact's uncommonly clear
I gotta find who's now number one
And why my angel eyes ain't here.
I gotta find who's now the number one
And why my angel eyes ain't here.
'scuse me while I disappear.
The lyrics of Angel Eyes by Anita O'Day capture the pain of unrequited love perfectly. In the first stanza, the singer encourages herself to think that love is not around, but it's only an uncomfortably nearby feeling because her beloved is not present. Her own heart is not at peace, and it won't gain any ground unless her angel eyes come back to her. Angel Eyes, in this context, is a metaphor for the bright, captivating qualities of the loved one that render the singer's heart vulnerable to their charm. The second stanza acknowledges the devilish origin of those alluring traits and suggests that the singer's love is mis-spent, likely because the beloved is not reciprocating the same feelings. The singer asks the people around her to drink up and have fun, offering to pay for their drinks and laughter. However, in the final stanza, she interrupts the merrymaking to declare her departure. She has to go find who has replaced her in the beloved's heart and why they are not with her anymore. The last line, "Excuse me while I disappear," suggests that the singer is not ready to face the reality of the situation and wants to escape it.
Line by Line Meaning
Try to think that love's not around
Despite trying to convince myself that love is absent, it still feels uncomfortably close.
Still it's uncomfortably near
Despite trying to convince myself that love is absent, it still feels uncomfortably close.
My own heart ain't gainin' no ground
Despite trying to move on from love, my heart is still not making progress.
Because my angel eyes ain't here
Because the one I love, my 'angel eyes', is not here with me.
Angel eyes that old devil sent
The person I love is dangerously captivating, like a temptation sent by the devil.
They glow unbearably bright
The person I love shines so brightly that it is overwhelming and hard to resist.
Need I say that my love's mis-spent
It is clear that my love is misplaced and not returned.
Mis-spent with angel eyes tonight
My love is going to waste on the person I am infatuated with.
So drink up, drink up all you people
I am trying to drown out my sorrows by telling everyone to drink up and enjoy themselves.
And order anything you see
I want everyone to indulge and enjoy themselves as much as possible.
Have fun you happy people
I hope that everyone can find happiness and joy in this moment, despite my own sadness.
The drink, and the laugh's, on me
I will pay for everyone's drinks and encourage them to laugh and have a good time even though I am hurting.
Pardon me, but I gotta run
Excuse me, but I must leave urgently.
The fact's uncommonly clear
It is painfully obvious to me that I am not loved back by the person I desire.
I gotta find who's now number one
I need to find out who is now occupying the one I love's heart.
And why my angel eyes ain't here.
I must figure out why the one I love is not with me.
'scuse me while I disappear.
Excuse me, as I need to go and process my emotions alone.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Fintage House Publishing
Written by: ANTHONY BARRO, RUSSELL DIXON, JOEL N FAVIERE, ASHLEY HITTESDORF, JAKE JONES, NICHOLAS OROZCO, ERIK N RON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@josiecrandell9392
Lyrics: Try to think that loves not around, yet it’s uncomfortably near.
My own heart ain’t gainin’ no ground, because my angel eyes ain’t here.
Angel eyes that old devil sent, they glow unbearably bright.
Need I say that my love’s misspent, misspent with angel eyes tonight.
So drink up, drink up all you people, and order anything that you see.
Have fun you lucky people, the drinks and the laughs are on me.
Pardon me, but I gotta run, the facts uncommonly clear.
I’ve got to find who’s now my number one, and why my angel eyes ain’t here.
Excuse me, while I disappear.
@jackd8602
From Newport and the floppy hat, to memories now, still wonderful. Thanks!
@MrDuffmann22
i love what she does with her voice. Out of all those female jazz singers, who sang all the standards, she stood out to me.
@hazelcook1
Been listening to this longer than I care to admit. Lovely.
@aDogNamedHandsome
This is awesome. Both the song and the singer.
@Kosthoms
00:21 great hiphop sample here!
@funkydrummergrl
so totally Anita. love it!
@JBCo2012
LOVE LOVE LOVE ANITA O'DAY!
@hektor_schmidt
great
@marymarino3986
Played on wfmu radio station dj Frank otoole...
@AbbeBuck
she was anita