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!.
I'm thru with you
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She was just Miss Jones to me
And then I said, "Miss Jones, you're a girl who understands
I'm a man who must be free"
And all at once I lost my breath, and all at once was scared to death
And all at once I owned the earth and sky
And now I've met Miss Jones, and we'll keep on meeting till we die
Miss Jones and I
And all at once I lost my breath, and all at once was scared to death
And all at once I owned the earth and the sky
Now I've met Miss Jones, and we'll keep on meeting till we die
Miss Jones and I, Miss Jones and I, Miss Jones and I
The lyrics to Anita O'Day's "I'm Thru With You" tells the story of a man who meets a woman named Miss Jones and falls deeply in love with her. He sees her as someone who understands his desire to be free and unattached, and he feels like he has found everything he has ever wanted in life. However, with this newfound love comes fear and vulnerability, and he suddenly feels like he has everything to lose. Despite this fear, the man continues to meet with Miss Jones until the end of their lives.
The repetition of lines in the chorus emphasizes the intensity of the man's emotions. The phrase "and all at once" is repeated twice, conveying the suddenness of his feelings. The line "I owned the earth and sky" suggests the magnitude of his love, and the repetition of "Miss Jones and I" at the end of the song solidifies the idea that they are meant to be together.
Overall, the lyrics to "I'm Thru With You" convey a whirlwind romance that is exciting and terrifying all at once. The man's emotions are intense and all-consuming, and he is willing to continue meeting with Miss Jones for the rest of his life, despite the fear that comes with such an intense love.
Line by Line Meaning
Have you met Miss Jones? someone said as we shook hands
Someone asked if I knew Miss Jones as we greeted each other
She was just Miss Jones to me
I didn't have any special feelings towards Miss Jones
And then I said, "Miss Jones, you're a girl who understands I'm a man who must be free"
I told Miss Jones that she seemed to comprehend that I need freedom as a man
And all at once I lost my breath, and all at once was scared to death
Suddenly, I felt overwhelmed and very frightened
And all at once I owned the earth and sky
Despite being overwhelmed, I also felt like I had a sense of power and control
And now I've met Miss Jones, and we'll keep on meeting till we die
Miss Jones and I will keep seeing each other until our death
Miss Jones and I
Just Miss Jones and me, no one else
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@starrman22
I have loved Kay's singing for over 50 years, during which time hardly a day has gone by without my listening to her life-affirming vocals. She was the only one who really could sing anything, and this is a lovely and timely tribute to one of the true greats. I was fortunate to meet her a couple of times when she toured the UK in 1993, and found her to be delightfully warm, friendly and humorous, not to mention absolutely down-to-earth. such a nice person, she will be greatly missed by friends and fans alike.
Thank you so much for posting this gem, Alan. It's one to treasure.
@irispluck5536
starrman2
@josephkane829
Respect to this lady and her long career.
@mikehudson8884
Always been a big fan of Miss Starr, I saw her perform in Leicester, England in the early 90s
@starrfan1
Thanks Alan for another tribute to Katie!
@jasbegs1258
Love Kay and particularly love Anita.
@monitortop
Oh, Alan, this one is great.
@Johnnycdrums
Kay Starr would be best described as a big band singer today, but more specifically in my opinion, a song stylist, which is not at all considered a pejorative within the industry by any means whatsoever. Saloon singer is ambiguous at best nowadays.
@hollbri2
all gone, kay,peggy lee, anita,jo,margaret,lena...im getting depressed.thanks for posting anyway...