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!.
What Is This Thing Called Love
Anita O'Day Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leading a life apart
When love flew in through my window wide
And quickened my hum-drum heart
Love flew in through my window
I was so happy then
But after love had stayed a little while
Love flew out again
What is this thing called love?
This funny thing called love?
Just who can solve its mystery?
Why should it make a fool of me?
I saw you there one wonderful day
You took my heart and threw my heart away
That's why I ask the Lawd up in Heaven above
What is this thing called love?
You gave me days of sunshine
You gave me nights of cheer
You made my life an enchanted dream
'Til somebody else came near
Somebody else came near you
I felt the winter's chill
And now I sit and wonder night and day
Why I love you still
In the lyrics to Anita O'Day's song "What Is This Thing Called Love," the singer reflects on the ups and downs of falling in love. Before love entered her life, she was "hum-drum," living a monotonous existence. However, when love "flew in" through her window, it "quickened" her heart and made her incredibly happy. Unfortunately, after a while, love "flew out again." The singer is left questioning what love truly is, and why it has the power to make her feel like a fool. She remembers a time when she felt happy with the person she loves, and how they gave her days of sunshine and nights of cheer. However, when someone else came into the picture, she felt the chill of winter and wondered why she still loved the person who had left her.
The lyrics of this song are relatable to anyone who has experienced the highs and lows of love. The singer seems to be questioning whether love is worth the pain that often comes along with it. She wonders why she still loves someone who has left her and made her feel like a fool. The repetition of the question "What is this thing called love?" highlights her confusion and frustration with the emotion.
Line by Line Meaning
I was a hum-drum person
I was leading a boring and uneventful life
Leading a life apart
Living a life away from love
When love flew in through my window wide
Love came into my life unexpectedly
And quickened my hum-drum heart
And made my heart beat faster and with more feeling
I was so happy then
I was filled with joy when love came into my life
But after love had stayed a little while
But unfortunately, love didn't stay long
Love flew out again
Love left as quickly as it entered
What is this thing called love?
Love is an unknown and mysterious feeling
This funny thing called love?
This confusing and bizarre emotion called love
Just who can solve its mystery?
No one can understand the true essence of love
Why should it make a fool of me?
Why does love have the power to make me feel foolish?
I saw you there one wonderful day
I saw you and fell in love with you
You took my heart and threw my heart away
You broke my heart and left me feeling abandoned
That's why I ask the Lawd up in Heaven above
That's why I ask God above the meaning of love
You gave me days of sunshine
You brought happiness into my life
You gave me nights of cheer
You made me feel happy and joyful
You made my life an enchanted dream
You made my life feel like a magical dream come true
'Til somebody else came near
Until another person caught your attention
Somebody else came near you
Someone else became important to you
I felt the winter's chill
I felt heartbroken and lonely
And now I sit and wonder night and day
And now I spend my time thinking about what went wrong
Why I love you still
Why I still have strong feelings for you despite everything
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
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)