Anita O'Day (October 18, 1919 - November 23, 2006) was an American jazz sin… Read Full Bio ↴Anita O'Day (October 18, 1919 - November 23, 2006) was an American jazz singer.

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!.

It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
Anita O'Day Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It don't mean a thing
If it ain't got that swing
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
It don't mean a thing
All you got to do is sing
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)

It makes no diff'rence
If it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Ev'rything you got
Oh, it don't mean a thing
If it ain't got that swing

(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)

Overall Meaning

Anita O'Day's song 'It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing' talks about swing as an essential ingredient for music to have an impact. The lyrics underline that regardless of how sweet or hot the music might be, without the presence of swing, it won't mean anything to the audience. The repeated line, 'It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing,' emphasizes that the swing is fundamental, it's the life of the music.

The song implies that swing is not just about the rhythm; it's also a feeling that the musicians must impart to the listener. It's an essential part of jazz music that is difficult to define but easy to recognize. Throughout the song, Anita O'Day emphasizes the importance of swing, urging the audience to find their rhythm and let the music do the rest.

In conclusion, Anita O'Day's 'It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing' conveys that the swing is an essential component of music that can enhance the listening experience. It's a feeling, a rhythm, and an intangible quality that is integral to jazz music.

Line by Line Meaning

It don't mean a thing
The thing being referred to has little significance or value

If it ain't got that swing
Unless it has the right rhythm or pace

(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Vocals bridging the transition between the first and second lines

Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
Continuation of the interjected vocals

It don't mean a thing
Emphasis on the previous statement

All you got to do is sing
Singing alone is enough to make it better

(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Reiteration of interjected vocals

Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
Continuation of interjection

It makes no diff'rence
The quality of something doesn't impact the importance of swing

If it's sweet or hot
It doesn't matter if it's soothing or exciting

Just give that rhythm
The rhythm should get all the attention

Ev'rything you got
Give it all you've got

Oh, it don't mean a thing
Same emphasis as before

If it ain't got that swing
Unless it possesses the required rhythm

(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Final interjected vocals

Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
Concluding the interjections

Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: Duke Ellington, Irving Mills

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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