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!.
Body And Soul
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Carrying the one that I love
Her beautiful body is still here on earth,
But her soul has been called up above
Body and soul, body and soul,
That's how she loved me, with body and soul
Her eyes were as blue as the sea,
Her lips were the color of summer's red rose,
And she promised she would always love me
Tomorrow as the sun sinks low
The shadows will cover her face
As her last sun goes down, she's laid beneath the ground
And my teardrops are falling like rain
The lyrics to this song tell the story of a person who has lost their loved one. The first verse describes a train carrying the one that they love who has died and gone to heaven. The person's body may still be on earth, but their soul has departed. The chorus, "body and soul," reflects the intense love that this person feels for their significant other, a love that transcends the physical.
The second verse, however, is a reminiscence of the beauty of the person who has passed away. Her gorgeous hair, deep blue eyes, and rich red lips are all referenced as a way to illustrate the depth of the love that is being mourned. The last verse describes the finality of this person's passing, as they are laid to rest and the sun sets for the last time. The singer is overcome with grief, and their tears fall like rain.
Line by Line Meaning
See that train coming round the bend,
There's a train approaching that's carrying someone she loves.
Carrying the one that I love
The train is carrying the person she loves.
Her beautiful body is still here on earth,
The person she loves is physically present on earth.
But her soul has been called up above
However, their soul has gone to heaven.
Body and soul, body and soul,
The person she loves loved her completely- in body and soul.
That's how she loved me, with body and soul
The person she loves loved her in every way- physically and spiritually.
Her beautiful hair was the purest of gold,
The person she loves had stunning golden hair.
Her eyes were as blue as the sea,
The person she loves had vibrant blue eyes.
Her lips were the color of summer's red rose,
The person she loves had rosy, red lips like a summer rose.
And she promised she would always love me
The person she loves promised to always love her.
Tomorrow as the sun sinks low
The next day, as the sun sets,
The shadows will cover her face
Her face will be covered in shadows.
As her last sun goes down, she's laid beneath the ground
As she is buried in the ground after dying.
And my teardrops are falling like rain
The singer is crying heavily- tears are falling like rain.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MARILYN MC LEOD, MEL BOLTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stephenvincent4989
This is Jazz on the high wire and Anita was one of its greatest exponents sublimely performed without a safety net. Sit back and enjoy - WOW!
@AlexandraRieloff
A true master ....When people were cool and respectful.
@johnmc3862
They were on television!
@djenkins1918
So true! They had class.
@manguera9
she is using chest voice and drawing notes in the intro of this song ,anytime a see a video of Anita is just amazing ,she was impredictable, and that the genious of this lady, that she comes up with something different that is enjoyable.
@joykanazawa9096
Her voice and style in jazz singing, soooooo cool. Love her. ♥️
@brandonsaloy5635
It's so incredible the way she makes this space her own. She WILL lead this group. They may not be hip to it, but she will. True genius.
@davidmayhew8083
She kills me. Her rythm is sublime. Thrilling!
@waitaminute7257
Love her!! Also that guitar player flys through all those chords like it's no big thing at all. That's hard stuff to play!
@mrg.8754
There was Wonderwoman...
...And came Anita.
So Mighty ✨