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!.
Love For Sale
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is the heavy tread of the heavy feet
That belong to a lonesome cop
I open shop
When the moon so long has been gazing down
On the wayward ways of a wayward town
That a smile becomes a smirk
I go to work
Love for sale
Appetizing young love for sale
Love that's fresh and still unspoiled
Love that's only slightly soiled
Love for sale
Who will buy? Who would like to sample my supply?
Who's prepared to pay the price for a trip to paradise?
Love for sale
Let the poets pipe of love in their childish way
I know every type of love better far than they
If you want the thrill of love, I've been through the mill of love
Old love, new love
Every kind but true love
For sale
Appetizing young love for sale
If you want to buy my wares
Follow me and climb the stairs
Love for sale
Love for sale
In Anita O'Day's song "Love for Sale," the singer is an experienced seller of love who is advertising their product to potential buyers. The first stanza sets the scene: the street is empty except for the heavy footsteps of a lonesome cop. This line creates a sense of emptiness and loneliness which is the environment in which the singer thrives, as it is the prime opportunity to sell love. The second stanza refers to the moon, implying that it's nighttime and the town is full of people with "wayward ways" and an appetite for love. The line, "that a smile becomes a smirk, I go to work," suggests that the singer knows how to manipulate people's emotions and desires to make a sale, and that they have been doing this for a long time.
In the chorus, the singer gets straight to the point: they are selling "appetizing young love" that's fresh or only slightly worn, meaning the seller can provide a new experience or a bit of variety. The question "who will buy?" implies that there is indeed a market for love and that there are customers willing to pay the price. The third stanza is a rebuttal to the romanticization of love by poets, as the singer claims to know every type of love better than them, having experienced "old love, new love, every kind but true love." The final line, "Love for sale," reiterates the theme of the song and emphasizes that love is a commodity to be bought and sold in this world.
Line by Line Meaning
When the only sound on the empty street
On a silent street, with no noise present except for the slow footsteps of a solitary police officer
Is the heavy tread of the heavy feet
The steady walking rhythm that comes with vigorously exerting effort on one's legs
That belong to a lonesome cop
Belonging to a police officer who is wandering alone on a desolate road
I open shop
I initiate the selling process of a particular product
When the moon so long has been gazing down
After the moon has been observing the goings-on of the town for a lengthy period
On the wayward ways of a wayward town
On the unpredictable actions of a town that lacks order
That a smile becomes a smirk
The atmosphere is such that a smile can quickly turn into a smirk
I go to work
I begin my job of promoting a specific commodity
Love for sale
Affection as a tradeable product that can be marketed and sold
Appetizing young love for sale
Fresh and perfect love, suitable for all desires, is for sale
Love that's fresh and still unspoiled
Love that is fresh and not yet polluted or decayed
Love that's only slightly soiled
Love that has just a little dirt but is still sellable
Love for sale
Love as a commodity that is available for purchase
Who will buy? Who would like to sample my supply?
Who will be interested in purchasing my goods and who is willing to try before they buy?
Who's prepared to pay the price for a trip to paradise?
Who is willing to pay the asking price for a journey to heaven?
Let the poets pipe of love in their childish way
Let poets write about love, even if it's in a juvenile manner
I know every type of love better far than they
I am more experienced than them in all manner of love
If you want the thrill of love, I've been through the mill of love
If you are looking for exciting interactions with love, I have gone through challenging experiences
Old love, new love
Love that is experienced or love that is fresh and current
Every kind but true love
Any kind of non-authentic love or anything that is not genuine love
For sale
Available and ready for purchase
If you want to buy my wares
If you are interested in purchasing my products
Follow me and climb the stairs
Follow me and go up the stairs to where the merchandise is located
Love for sale
Affection as a tradeable product that can be marketed and sold
Love for sale
Affection as a tradeable product that can be marketed and sold
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Laurène Alban
Love for sale
Appetizing young love for sale
Love that's fresh and still unspoiled
Love that's only slightly soiled
Love for sale
Who will buy
Who would like to sample my supply
Who's prepared to pay the price
For a trip to paradise
Love for sale
Let the poets pipe of love
In their childish way
I know every type of love
Better far than they
If you want the thrill of love
I've been through the mill of love
Old love, new love
Every love but true
Love for sale
Appetizing young love for sale
If you want to buy my wares
Follow me and climb the stairs
Love for sale
Let the poets pipe of love
In their childish way
I know every type of love
Better far than they
If you want the thrill of love
I've been through the mill of love
Old love, new love
Every love but true
Love for sale
Appetizing young love for sale
If you want to buy my wares
Follow me and climb the stairs
Love for sale
Love for sale
Love for sale
Luis R. Irizarry Agosto
Truly a Top notch orchestra
gregger59
In addition to the great interpretation of the notes, I love the way she uses her voice as a rythmic instrument. What syncopation.
dpohunter
Fantastic up-tempo arrangement on this. O'Day is not only terrific to listen to, she is also incredibly watchable.
David2020
This arrangement is a direct copy of the one by Billy Mays on the 'Swings Cole Porter' album. Not that that's a problem of course :)
OCTOBERLY
@David2020 I believe he arranged it for Anita
Luis R. Irizarry Agosto
A great musical arrangement and direction, the orchestra with a great sound and interpretation.
Wayne Brasler
A talent supreme. Anita, June Christy and Chris Connor were all fans of each other's music and recorded many of the same songs. The public generally lumped them together but in reality their vocal equipment, interpretative style and talents were quite different, and it was when the recorded the same songs that truth clearly emerged. All three were Midwestern girls and that showed in the personalities of all three, very wonderful ladies in every way.
Blond Thought
I do love her interpretation of this fabulous song, especially the sublime mid-section. Not to mention the fact that she knew how to move to a song. Who has ever mastered the fine art of restrained movement better than Miss O'Day?
David Mehnert
Blond Thought also she has the quirkiest facial expressions, and makes such good use of them (I think)... another kind of performer might have tried to homogenize their (inadvertent) asides, but she lets it all show, and its the power of strong enchantment
stuntcat666
Anita's version is the best of a lot of songs, just imho :) She deserves a lot more listens.