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!.
Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pay no attention to what's said.
Why people tear the seams of anyone's dreams
Is over my head.
Do nothing till you hear from me,
At least consider our romance.
If you should take the words of others you've heard,
True, I've been seen with someone new,
But does that mean that I've been untrue?
When we're apart,
The words in my heart
Reveal how I feel about you.
Some kiss may cloud my memories,
And other arms may hold a thrill,
But please, do nothing till you hear it from me
And you never will.
Some kiss may cloud my memories,
And other arms may hold a thrill,
But please, do nothing till you hear it from me
And you never will.
Baby
doll, I can't help but marvel at the way you interpret these lyrics! "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Bob Russell. The song was first recorded in 1940, and Anita O'Day's version was recorded in 1955.
The song is a plea from the singer to their lover, asking them not to listen to rumors or gossip about their fidelity. The opening lines, "Do nothing till you hear from me, pay no attention to what's said" suggest to the listener that the singer is not trying to hide anything but rather they urge their lover to wait for direct communication from them before they make any assumptions. The singer is confident in their love and believes that their partner should have faith in their relationship.
The second verse addresses the possibility of the singer being seen with someone new. The lyrics ask whether this automatically makes the singer unfaithful. The final verse is a repetition of the chorus, further emphasizing the importance of direct communication between the two people in the relationship.
Overall, the song highlights the importance of trust, honesty, and direct communication in relationships. The lyrics suggest that rumors and assumptions can harm relationships and that messages should be properly communicated to avoid misunderstandings.
Line by Line Meaning
Do nothing till you hear from me,
Wait for my signal before making any moves.
Pay no attention to what's said.
Ignore any rumors or gossip you might hear.
Why people tear the seams of anyone's dreams
I don't understand why people would want to ruin someone else's aspirations.
Is over my head.
It's a mystery to me why people do this.
At least consider our romance.
Think about our relationship before jumping to conclusions.
If you should take the words of others you've heard,
If you listen to what others are saying about me,
I haven't a chance.
You might think less of me and our relationship.
True, I've been seen with someone new,
Yes, I have been spotted with someone else recently,
But does that mean that I've been untrue?
But that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm being unfaithful to you.
When we're apart,
When we're not together,
The words in my heart
What I truly feel deep down inside,
Reveal how I feel about you.
Show my love for you.
Some kiss may cloud my memories,
I may have had a passionate moment with someone else,
And other arms may hold a thrill,
I may have found comfort in another person's embrace,
But please, do nothing till you hear it from me
But please, wait to hear the truth from me before making any judgments.
And you never will.
And you will never hear anything untrue from me.
Some kiss may cloud my memories,
I may have had a passionate moment with someone else,
And other arms may hold a thrill,
I may have found comfort in another person's embrace,
But please, do nothing till you hear it from me
But please, wait to hear the truth from me before making any judgments.
And you never will.
And you will never hear anything untrue from me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DUKE ELLINGTON, BOB RUSSELL
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)