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!.
Star Eyes
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That to me is what your eyes are,
Soft as stars in April skies are,
Tell me some day you'll fulfill
Their promise of a thrill.
Star eyes,
Flashing eyes in which my hopes rise,
Let me prove that it adores
That loveliness of yours.
All my life I've felt
Content to stargaze at the skies.
Now I only want to to melt
The stardust in your eyes.
Star eyes,
When if ever, will my lips know
If it's me for whom those eyes glow?
Makes no diff'rence where you are,
Your eyes still hold my wishing star,
Oh, star eyes, how lovely you are.
In "Star Eyes," Anita O'Day sings about a person whose eyes resemble stars in the night sky. The singer is deeply attracted to this person and hopes that they will reciprocate those feelings someday. The singer is drawn to the "loveliness" of their eyes and is willing to prove their adoration. Before meeting this person, the singer was content stargazing in the sky, but now they only want to know this person's eyes intimately.
The metaphor of stars in the sky is used throughout these lyrics, creating an image of a beautiful, mesmerizing gaze that cannot be ignored. The singer's desire for this person is fueled by the alluring pull of the starry sky in their eyes. In the final lines, the singer wonders if they'll ever know if they're the one for whom those eyes glow, but it doesn't matter where this person is - their eyes will always hold the singer's "wishing star."
Overall, "Star Eyes" is a romantic song that uses an elaborate metaphor to describe a deep attraction to someone's gaze. The singer is transfixed and wants nothing more than to know this person deeply.
Line by Line Meaning
Star eyes,
Describing the subject's eyes as sparkling with the same intensity and splendor as stars.
That to me is what your eyes are,
To the storyteller, the subject's eyes are reminiscent of the beauty and radiance of stars.
Soft as stars in April skies are,
The subject's eyes are gentle and calming, similar to the way the stars appear in the sky during the month of April.
Tell me some day you'll fulfill
Their promise of a thrill.
The storyteller hopes that the subject's eyes will someday live up to their potential of instilling excitement and joy.
Flashing eyes in which my hopes rise,
The storyteller's expectations and aspirations are brought to life by the subject's vibrant and vivacious eyes.
Let me show you where my heart lies.
The storyteller wants to express their adoration and love for the subject's captivating eyes.
Let me prove that it adores
That loveliness of yours.
The storyteller wants to demonstrate their deep affection and admiration for the subject's attractive qualities.
All my life I've felt
Content to stargaze at the skies.
Until now, the storyteller has been satisfied with merely observing the beauty of the night sky and its stars.
Now I only want to to melt
The stardust in your eyes.
The storyteller desires to become intimately involved with the subject and experience the same wonder and radiance that they see in their eyes.
When if ever, will my lips know
If it's me for whom those eyes glow?
The storyteller wonders when they will finally have the opportunity to know if the subject's eyes are shining with admiration and love specifically for them.
Makes no diff'rence where you are,
Your eyes still hold my wishing star,
Regardless of the subject's location or distance, the storyteller's heart remains captivated by the radiance and allure of their eyes.
Oh, star eyes, how lovely you are.
The storyteller is enamored with the subject's eyes and their beauty and charm.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GENE DE PAUL, DON RAYE
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)