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!.
Johnny One Note
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the note he sang was this: aaaahh
Poor Johnny One Note
Sang out with Gusto
And just overloaded the place
Poor Johnny One Note
Yelled willy-nilly
For holding one note was his ace
Couldn't hear the brass
Couldn't hear the drum
He was in a class
By himself, by gum
Poor Johnny One Note
Got in Aida indeed a great chance to be brave
He took his one note
Howled like the North Wind
Brought forth wind that made critics rave
While Verdi turned round in his grave
Couldn't hear the flute
Or the big trombone
Everyone was mute
Johnny stood alone
Cats and dogs stopped yapping
Lions in the zoo
Were all jealous of Johnny's big thrill
Thunderclaps stopped clapping
Traffic ceased its roar
And they tell us Niag'ra stood still
He stopped the trainwistles
Boatwhistles
Steamwhistles
Copwhistles
All whistles bowed to his skill
Sing Johnny One Note
Sing out with gusto
And just overwhelm all the crowd
Aaaahh
So sing, Johnny One Note out loud
Sing, Johnny One Note
Sing - Johnny - One Note - Out loud
The song “Johnny One Note” by Anita O’Day is a satirical piece that uses humor to poke fun at a mediocre singer who is only able to sing one note. Johnny’s one note is the note ‘aahh’ and he continuously repeats it throughout the song. Despite his lack of singing abilities, Johnny sings out with gusto, and it becomes overwhelming to the listeners. Johnny’s constant repetition of the same note causes him to get blue in the face as he yells willy-nilly, trying to prove himself.
The song takes a humorous turn as Johnny gets a chance to sing in Aida, when he howls like the North Wind. Surprisingly, this brings forth winds that make the critics rave, and even Verdi turns round in his grave. During this performance, Johnny was in a league of his own, and despite the sound of flutes and big trombones, he still stood out. Even animals like cats and dogs stopped yapping, and lions in the zoo became jealous of his big thrill. Thunderclaps stopped clapping, traffic ceased its roar, and even Niagara stood still. Johnny’s performance was so remarkable that he stopped the train whistles, boat whistles, steam whistles, and cop whistles as all whistles bowed to his skill.
Line by Line Meaning
Johnny could only sing one note
Johnny's vocal ability was limited to only one note
And the note he sang was this: aaaahh
The note Johnny sang repeatedly was 'aaaahh'
Poor Johnny One Note
Johnny's musical ability was limited and therefore he had only one note to sing with, which elicited sympathy from others
Sang out with gusto
Johnny sang with great enthusiasm and energy
And just overloaded the place
His high energy level caused him to overpower the other musicians and performers in the area
Yelled willy-nilly
Johnny sang without restraint or control
Until he was blue in the face
Johnny sang so much that he became exhausted and out of breath
For holding one note was his ace
The fact that he could produce a unique and steady one-note sound was his only talent
Couldn't hear the brass
The music of the brass instruments was drowned out by Johnny's singing
Couldn't hear the drum
The sound of the drum was also silenced by Johnny's singing
He was in a class
Johnny was unique and one-of-a-kind
By himself, by gum
Johnny was completely alone and unmatched
Got in Aida indeed a great chance to be brave
Johnny was given an opportunity to perform in the opera Aida, which was a courageous and daring move
He took his one note
Johnny utilized his one musical talent
Howled like the North Wind
Johnny sang loudly and with a lot of force
Brought forth wind that made critics rave
His singing was so powerful that it gained the praise and admiration of critics
While Verdi turned round in his grave
Johnny's performance was so unique and unorthodox that it would have shocked and surprised opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, who was no longer alive
Couldn't hear the flute
The sound of the flute was drowned out by Johnny's singing
Or the big trombone
The sound of the big trombone was also silenced by Johnny's singing
Everyone was mute
Everyone stopped making a sound so that Johnny's singing would be the only sound heard
Johnny stood alone
In this moment, Johnny was the only one performing and his one-note singing was the only sound being made
Cats and dogs stopped yapping
Even animals ceased making noise to listen to Johnny's singing
Lions in the zoo
Even the lions in the zoo stopped their roaring to listen to his singing
Were all jealous of Johnny's big thrill
The animals were envious of Johnny's musical talent
Thunderclaps stopped clapping
The noise of thunder stopped so that Johnny's singing could be heard
Traffic ceased its roar
In this moment, all noise stopped so that Johnny's singing could be heard
And they tell us Niag'ra stood still
The singing was so powerful that it was said to have even halted the Niagara Falls
He stopped the trainwistles
Even the loud sounds of train whistles were silenced by Johnny's singing
Boatwhistles
The sound of boat whistles was also silenced by Johnny's singing
Steamwhistles
Johnny's singing even silenced the sound of steam whistles
Copwhistles
Even the whistles used by police officers were silenced by Johnny's singing
All whistles bowed to his skill
All types of whistles were negated by the power of Johnny's singing
Sing Johnny One Note
A call to sing a song about Johnny's one-note talent
Sing out with gusto
Sing with a lot of enthusiasm and energy
And just overwhelm all the crowd
To sing so powerfully that the entire audience is engrossed and captivated by the music
Aaaahh
The note that Johnny is most known for singing
So sing, Johnny One Note out loud
To encourage others to sing about Johnny's one-note talent proudly and loudly
Sing, Johnny One Note
Another call to sing a song about Johnny's one-note talent
Sing - Johnny - One Note - Out loud
A chant-like call to sing a song about Johnny's one-note talent very loudly
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LORENZ HART, RICHARD RODGERS
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)