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!.
Take the "A" Train
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem
If you miss the "A" train
You'll find you've missed the quickest way to Harlem
Hurry, get up now, it's coming
Listen to those rails a'hummin'
All board, get on the "A" train
Sa veef a deef
Leet doveef an'dassan
Deepandassan day
Doia dey'tn day
Veef sa'va veva dabbadey
Dada deutn'datn deitn deu doo
Hurry, get up now, it's coming
Listen to those rails a'hummin'
All board, get on the "A" train
Soon you will be in Sugar Hill in Harlem
"A" train, "A" train, "A" train
The song "Take the "A" Train" by Anita O'Day, written by Billy Strayhorn, is an invitation to take the subway train "A" to get to Sugar Hill, a neighborhood located in Harlem, New York City, which was known as the capital of black America in the 1920s and 1930s. The song is a tribute to Strayhorn's employer, Duke Ellington, who composed a song using the same title and theme, but left the lyrics unsung. The song, which was first recorded in 1941, became a jazz standard, and it is still one of the most famous and recognizable jazz tunes of all time.
The lyrics of the song encourage the listener to hurry up and take the "A" train, as it is the quickest way to get to Harlem. The train's sound is represented in the refrain with the phrase "All board, get on the 'A' train, soon you will be on Sugar Hill in Harlem." The sense of urgency is reinforced with an exhortation to hurry written twice in the song - "Hurry, get up now, it's coming, Listen to those rails a'hummin'" - and expresses the excitement and energy of people riding the train to get to the city.
Overall, the lyrics of "Take the 'A' Train" communicate the joy and anticipation of arriving in Harlem, a place where one can go to escape the troubles of everyday life and immerse oneself in the vibrant spirit of the neighborhood.
Line by Line Meaning
You must take the "A" train
To get to Sugar Hill in Harlem, you must catch the "A" train.
To go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem
This is telling you where the "A" train goes - to Sugar Hill, located in Harlem.
If you miss the "A" train
If you don't catch the "A" train, you'll miss the fastest route to Harlem.
You'll find you've missed the quickest way to Harlem
If you miss the "A" train, there's no easier way to get to Harlem, so you'll be missing out.
Hurry, get up now, it's coming
The train is almost here and you need to hurry to catch it.
Listen to those rails a'hummin'
The sound of trains on the rails is unmistakable, so listen out for it.
All board, get on the "A" train
The train is here, so get on.
Soon you will be on Sugar Hill in Harlem
Once you're on the train, you'll be on your way to Sugar Hill.
"A" train, "A" train, "A" train
This repetition of the phrase is likely for emphasis, reminding listeners to catch the specific "A" train to go to Harlem.
Contributed by Caleb K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ingridmusat2326
You must take the "A" train
To go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem
If you miss the "A" train
You'll find you've missed the quickest way to Harlem
Hurry, get up now, it's coming
Listen to those rails a'hummin'
All board, get on the "A" train
Soon you will be on Sugar Hill in Harlem
Sa veef a deef
Leet doveef an'dassan
Deepandassan day
Doia dey'tn day
Veef sa'va veva dabbadey
Dada deutn'datn deitn deu doo
Hurry, get up now, it's coming
Listen to those rails a'hummin'
All board, get on the "A" train
Soon you will be in Sugar Hill in Harlem
"A" train, "A" train, "A" train
@TheHiawatha101
I love the A Train, and I love Anita! She led a real hard life, but eventually cleaned up and came back. What a talent!
@AntarblueGarneau
Anita is the most! Saw her in Honolulu in '83. Unfortunatly, her voice was fried already. Love that "Sweet Georgia Brown" in "Jazz on a Summer's Day!" Thanks!
@OlymPigs2010
Anita! Wow! What a stylist! Plus her back up band was out of this world!
@boomerang905
One more Jazzy Lady. I rank her with the very best! I loved her voice so much and she does this just great! Thanks for the upload.
@eguirald
Anita: a giant of jazz, an unforgettable artist, a milestone of musical talent. We´ll never forget you.
@hilaryapril7043
Saw anita at the half note club spring and Hudson nyc during the late 1960's...she could scat with the best of them ! The other female vocalist I remember was Chris connor(s)?
@Tason123
The flute and her cracking vibrato just takes me away
@jabrojammer
Love Anita Oday!!
@thomaslombardo3401
Love Anita O’Day 💛
@paulostroff99
One of the all time great jazz singers.