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!.
Anita: I Can't Get Started
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've settled revolutions in Spain
And the North Pole I have charted
Still I can't get started with you
On the golf course, I'm under par
Metro Goldwyn have asked me to star
I've got a house, a showplace
'Cause you're so supreme
Lyrics I write of you, I dream
Dream day and night of you
And I scheme just for the sight of you
Baby, what good does it do?
I've been consulted by Franklin D
Greta Garbo has had me to tea
Still I'm broken-hearted
'Cause I can't get started with you
Anita O'Day's "I Can't Get Started" is a ballad of unrequited love, with the singer telling us everything they've accomplished in their life, yet not being able to win over the one person they truly desire. The lyrics detail an impressive list of accomplishments; flying around the world in a plane, settling revolutions in Spain, charting the North Pole, playing golf under par, and being asked to star in a Metro Goldwyn movie. The list goes on, but despite all these achievements, the singer still can't manage to start a relationship with the object of their affection. She tells us of her house, which is a showplace, and of the dreams she has about her beloved, with lyrics that express her yearning to be with them.
The lyrics paint a picture of someone who has accomplished many things and experienced great success in their life, yet they still struggle when it comes to love. They've even been consulted by Franklin D. Roosevelt and had tea with Greta Garbo, but none of this compares to the pain of not being able to be with the person they desire. Despite all their achievements, the singer is still "broken-hearted" because they can't get started with the one they love.
Overall, "I Can't Get Started" is a beautiful and poignant song that captures the frustration and longing of unrequited love. It's a reminder that even the most accomplished and successful people are not immune to the heartache of failed relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
I've flown around the world in a plane
I've traveled far and wide on an airplane
I've settled revolutions in Spain
I've played an important role in ending a political upheaval in Spain
And the North Pole I have charted
I've navigated and mapped out the North Pole
Still I can't get started with you
Despite my many accomplishments, I still can't seem to win your affection
On the golf course, I'm under par
I'm doing exceptionally well during a game of golf
Metro Goldwyn have asked me to star
I've been invited to be the lead actor in a movie by the Metro Goldwyn studio
I've got a house, a showplace
I've got a splendid house that's a sight to see
Still I can't get no place with you
I still can't seem to make any progress with you
'Cause you're so supreme
You're the most outstanding and exceptional person in my eyes
Lyrics I write of you, I dream
I write songs about you and dream about them
Dream day and night of you
I constantly fantasize about you, night and day
And I scheme just for the sight of you
I plot and plan just to catch a glimpse of you
Baby, what good does it do?
My efforts are in vain, and it doesn't seem to be helpful
I've been consulted by Franklin D
I've been given advice or counsel by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Greta Garbo has had me to tea
I've had the pleasure of being invited to have tea with the famous actress Greta Garbo
Still I'm broken-hearted
Despite my impressive experiences, my heart is still heavy and sad
'Cause I can't get started with you
Because I can't seem to start a meaningful relationship with you
Lyrics © DELLA BLUE MUSIC LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANITA O'DAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aceiseverywhere
on Who Cares?
Let it rain and thunder
Let a million firms go under
I am not concerned with, stocks and bombs that I've been burned with
I love you and you love me
And that's how it will always be
And nothing else can ever mean a thing
Who cares what the public chatters?
Love's the only thing that matters
Who cares if the sky, cares to fall
in the sea
Who cares how history rates me?
As long as your kiss intoxicates me
Oh why should I care?
Life is one long jubilee
As long as I care for you
And you care for me!
Who cares if the sky, cares to fall
in the sea
Who cares what banks fail in Yonkers?
As long as you've got a kiss that conquers!
Oh why should I care?
Life is one long jubilee
So long as I care for you
and you care for me!
(These lyrics might be wrong, sorry)