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!.
Gone
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How could you tell me that you're goin' away?
Don't say that we must part,
Don't break your baby's heart
You know I've loved you for these many years,
Loved you night and day,
Oh! honey baby, can't you see my tears?
After you've gone and left me cryin'
After you've gone there's no denyin'
You'll feel blue, you'll feel sad
You'll miss the dearest pal you've ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
Someday, when you grow lonely
Your heart will break like mine and you'll want me only
After you've gone, after you've gone away
After you've gone and left me cryin'
After you've gone there's no denyin'
You're gonna feel blue, and you're gonna feel sad
You're gonna feel bad
And you'll miss, and you'll miss,
And you'll miss the bestest pal you ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
But baby, think what you're doin'
I'm gonna haunt you so, I'm gonna taunt you so
It's gonna drive you to ruin
After you've gone, after you've gone away.
The first verse of "After You've Gone" by Anita O'Day is a plea from the singer to their lover not to leave them. The singer asks how their lover could tell them that they're leaving and begs them not to break their heart. The singer expresses their love for their partner over many years and asks them to listen to their tears. The second verse shifts to the aftermath of the breakup. The singer predicts that their lover will feel sad and miss them deeply. The singer tells their lover that there will come a time when they regret leaving and become lonely. The chorus repeats the prediction that the lover will come to regret their decision to leave, and that they will miss the singer deeply. The song ends with a warning from the singer that they will haunt and taunt their lover and it will eventually drive them to ruin.
The song "After You've Gone" has a melancholic and somber tone that reflects the emotions of heartbreak and regret. The lyrics convey a sense of longing for a lost love and the pain of knowing that the lover will realize too late the value of what they had. This song became a jazz standard in the 1920s and has since been recorded by many artists, including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Line by Line Meaning
Now won't you listen honey, while I say,
Please pay attention to me while I speak, my dear
How could you tell me that you're goin' away?
Why did you inform me that you're departing?
Don't say that we must part,
Please don't suggest that we have to separate
Don't break your baby's heart
Please don't devastate your beloved
You know I've loved you for these many years,
You are aware that I have loved you for multiple years
Loved you night and day,
Loved you ceaselessly
Oh! honey baby, can't you see my tears?
Oh! My dear, can't you perceive my weeping?
Listen while I say
Pay attention while I speak
After you've gone and left me cryin'
When you have departed and left me weeping
After you've gone there's no denyin'
Indeed, there's no denying that you've gone
You'll feel blue, you'll feel sad
You will feel melancholic and sorrowful
You'll miss the dearest pal you've ever had
You'll long for the closest friend you ever had
There'll come a time, now don't forget it
A point will arise, remember my words
There'll come a time when you'll regret it
You'll be remorseful of your decision at some point
Someday, when you grow lonely
One day, when you feel isolated
Your heart will break like mine and you'll want me only
Your heart will shatter like mine and you'll yearn for me solely
After you've gone, after you've gone away
Once you've left, after your departure
You're gonna feel blue, and you're gonna feel sad
You'll become despondent and sorrowful
You're gonna feel bad
You're going to feel remorseful
And you'll miss, and you'll miss,
And you'll long for
And you'll miss the bestest pal you ever had
And you'll yearn for the closest friend you ever had
But baby, think what you're doin'
But darling, contemplate the actions you're taking
I'm gonna haunt you so, I'm gonna taunt you so
I'm going to continuously plague and tease you
It's gonna drive you to ruin
It will lead you to destruction
After you've gone, after you've gone away.
Once you've departed, after your departure.
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Henry Creamer, Turner Layton, Ray Sherman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Farner
She is the greatest. ❤️
Jo Hague
This 1999 Japanese reissue originally recorded 1975. Love Anita!
Henri de Lagardère
0:00 A Song For You + 3:03 Undecided + 7:16 What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life + 13:27 Exactly Like You + 17:39 When Sunny Gets Blue + 23:47 I Get A Kick Out Of You + 28:07 It Had To Be You + 32:00 Opus One + 34:56 Gone With The Wind
Ronald Unkel
@Henri de Lagardère And that black hat! Years later Henri, in a documentary about her life, whilst living in a old-age home (bejaarden ten huis), she admitted to being a drug user and at - Newport - she was “high”. And yes, i will never forget “Tea for Two”. Be well & Cin Cin!
Henri de Lagardère
@Ronald Unkel She was, literally, on another level of consciousness during Tea for Two, and looked absolutely stunning in that dress.
Ronald Unkel
A very nice album. Also very clearly recorded. But for me Anita’s ground breaking performance was at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival and captured in probably the best Jazz documentary’s - “Jazz On a Summers-Day” - ! A killer performance! But i’m sure you are aware. G’day & Cheers!
David Nelms
When Sunny Gets Blue, so cool.
Jose Antonio
Estou procurando That's what you think e After you've gone
do disco The Big Band Sessions com Anita O' Day e Gene Krupa Big Band. Pode ser
mesmo pelo YouTube. Agradeço muito quem me arrumar.
Eric Wood
❤️😓❤️ Rest In Peace amazing musician and amazing woman