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!.
Let's Begin
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Whatcha gonna do?
Is it up to me
Or is it up to you?
What kind of game is this that we've begun?
Was it done
just for fun?
Don't forget,
There's no reason for bayin' regret!
Oh, is this to be a case
Of fall and then I fell,
Kiss and never tell,
Folly and farewell?
Which is goin' to be?
Might have been,
Lose or win,
Let's begin,
I'm here to tell ya, let's begin!
Now that you've got me goin',
Whatcha gonna do?
Is it up to me
Or is it up to you?
What kind of game is this that we've begun?
Was it done
just for fun?
No!
Realise
That I'm wise,
And please stop rollin' those big blue eyes!
Is this to be a case
Of fall and then I fell,
Kiss and never tell,
Folly and farewell?
Which is goin' to be?
Might have been,
Let's begin,
Let's begin!
In this song, Anita O'Day is questioning the intentions of her lover as they start a new relationship. She asks if it is up to her or up to him to make the next move, and what kind of game they are playing. She wonders if they are just having fun or if there is more to the relationship. She tells him to realize that she is wise and to stop rolling his "big blue eyes."
The lyrics in this song suggest that O'Day is questioning the sincerity of the person she is singing to, and whether they are truly interested in a genuine relationship. She wants to know if they are looking for a quick fling or something more meaningful. O'Day sings with a mixture of vulnerability and confidence, expressing her uncertainty and assertiveness at the same time.
Overall, "Let's Begin" is a song about the beginning of a relationship and the uncertainty that comes with it. O'Day's lyrics express both her hopefulness and her caution, indicating that she is willing to take a chance but also wants to make sure that the person she is with is genuinely invested.
Line by Line Meaning
Now that you've got me goin',
Now that you have piqued my interest,
Whatcha gonna do?
What are you planning to do next?
Is it up to me
Am I responsible for leading this?
Or is it up to you?
Or are you responsible for leading this?
What kind of game is this that we've begun?
What sort of situation have we gotten ourselves into?
Was it done
Was this a deliberate act,
just for fun?
or was it something that was done for entertainment purposes?
Don't forget,
Remember,
Since we met,
Ever since we first met,
There's no reason for bayin' regret!
We should not have any regrets in this situation!
Oh, is this to be a case
Is this going to result in a scenario where,
Of fall and then I fell,
One of us gives in and falls for the other,
Kiss and never tell,
Then we share a kiss, but never speak of it again,
Folly and farewell?
This might just be a mistake that ends in us parting ways,
Which is goin' to be?
Which of these possibilities will come true?
Might have been,
One of these scenarios could have happened,
Lose or win,
The end result could be either a victory or a loss,
Let's begin,
Regardless, let's start this journey together,
I'm here to tell ya, let's begin!
I am ready and willing to start this new adventure with you!
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEROME KERN, OTTO HARBACH
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)