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!.
Frenesi
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wandered down into old Mexico
While I was there
I felt romance everywhere
Moon was shining bright
And I could hear laughing voices in the night
Everyone was gay
It was fiesta down in Mexico
And so I stopped a while to see the show
I knew that frenesi meant "Please love me"
And I could say frenesi
A lovely senorita caught my eye
I stood enchanted as she wandered by
And never knowing that it come from me
I gently sighed frenesi
She stopped and raised her eyes to mine
Her lips just pleaded to be kissed
Her eyes were soft as candle-shine
So how was I to resist?
And now without a heart to call my own
A greater happiness I've never known
Because her kisses are for me alone
Who wouldn't say frenesi?
The lyrics to Anita O'Day's song "Frenesi" transports the listener to a magical night in Mexico. The singer of the song wanders into Mexico and finds himself amidst a vibrant, joyful fiesta. As the moon shines bright, he hears the laughter and merry-making of people around him, and can feel the romance in the air. He becomes enchanted by a beautiful senorita who walks by, and, without knowing it, sighs the word "frenesi" - a Spanish term for "please love me". The senorita stops and looks at him, her lips beckoning him to kiss her, and her eyes so soft that the singer finds it impossible to resist her charms. The song suggests that with her kisses, the singer has found a greater happiness that he has never known before.
The song is an evocative and romantic ode to the city of Mexico, a place where the singer has found solace and love. The use of Spanish phrases adds to the authenticity of the song's depiction of Mexico and its culture. Overall, the song is a tribute to the power of love and the way it can transform an ordinary night into a magical experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Some time ago
In the past
I wandered down into old Mexico
I traveled to old Mexico
While I was there
During my stay there
I felt romance everywhere
I sensed romance all around
Moon was shining bright
The moon was shining brightly
And I could hear laughing voices in the night
I heard the sound of laughter during the night
Everyone was gay
Everyone was cheerful and happy
This was the start of their holiday
Their holiday had just begun
It was fiesta down in Mexico
A celebration was taking place in Mexico
And so I stopped a while to see the show
I paused to watch the festivities
I knew that frenesi meant 'Please love me'
I understood that frenesi meant 'Please love me'
And I could say frenesi
And I was able to say 'Please love me'
A lovely senorita caught my eye
A beautiful young lady caught my attention
I stood enchanted as she wandered by
I was captivated as she walked past
And never knowing that it come from me
Unaware that it came from me
I gently sighed frenesi
I quietly uttered 'Please love me'
She stopped and raised her eyes to mine
She paused and looked into my eyes
Her lips just pleaded to be kissed
Her lips seemed to beg to be kissed
Her eyes were soft as candle-shine
Her eyes were as gentle and radiant as a lit candle
So how was I to resist?
So how could I resist?
And now without a heart to call my own
Now without a heart of my own
A greater happiness I've never known
I've never experienced greater happiness
Because her kisses are for me alone
Because her kisses belong exclusively to me
Who wouldn't say frenesi?
Who wouldn't say 'Please love me' in this situation?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Alberto Borras Dominguez, Leonard Whitcup
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)