Born Denise Eileen Garrett in Memphis, Tennessee, she grew up in Flint, Michigan. Her father, Matthew Garrett, was a jazz trumpeter and teacher at Manassas High School, and through his playing, Denise was exposed to jazz early on. At the age of sixteen, she was a member of a rock and rhythm'n'blues trio, singing in clubs in Michigan. At 18, she studied at Michigan State University before she went to the University of Illinois. With their jazz band, she toured the Soviet Union in 1969. The next year, she met trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, and after their marriage, they moved to New York City, where Cecil played in Horace Silver's band.
In 1971, Dee Dee Bridgewater joined the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra as the lead vocalist. The next years marked the beginning of her jazz career, and she performed with many of the great jazz musicians of the time, such as Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Max Roach, and others. In 1974, her first own album, entitled Afro Blue, appeared, and she also performed on Broadway in the musical The Wiz. For her role as Glinda the Good Witch she won a Tony Award in 1975 as "best-featured actress", and the musical also won the 1976 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.
She subsequently appeared in several other stage productions. After touring France in 1984 with the musical Sophisticated Ladies, she moved to Paris in 1986. The same year saw her in Lady Day as Billie Holliday, for which role she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she returned from the world of musical to jazz. She performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1990, and four years later, she finally collaborated with Horace Silver, whom she had admired for a long time, and released the album Love and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver. Her 1997 tribute album Dear Ella won her the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and the 1998 album Live at Yoshi's was also worth a Grammy nomination. She has also explored on This is New the songs of Kurt Weill, and, on her latest album J'ai Deux Amours, the French Classics.
Dee Dee Bridgewater is the first American to be inducted to the Haut Conseil de la Francophonie. She has received the Award of Arts and Letters in France.
Dee Dee Bridgewater is mother to three children, Tulani Bridgewater (from her marriage to Cecil Bridgewater), China Moses (from her marriage to theater, film and television director Gilbert Moses) and Gabriel Durand (from her current marriage to French concert promoter Jean-Marie Durand).
Cherokee
Dee Dee Bridgewater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't forget you, Cherokee sweetheart.
Child of the prairie, your love keeps calling,
My heart enthralling, Cherokee.
Dreams of summertime, of lover time gone by,
Throng my memory so tenderly, and sigh. My
Sweet Indian maiden, one day I'll hold you,
In my arms fold you, Cherokee.
The song "Cherokee" by Dee Dee Bridgewater is a love song that tells the story of a man who has fallen in love with a Native American woman. The lyrics describe the man's love and admiration for the woman, whom he calls a "Cherokee sweetheart." He remembers fondly the time they spent together and dreams of holding her in his arms once again. The song is filled with romantic imagery, describing the woman as a "child of the prairie" and speaking of "dreams of summertime" and "lover time gone by."
The song is notable for its use of imagery to evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing. The memories of the man and woman are described in detail, from the "child of the prairie" to the "lover time gone by." The song also employs repetition to emphasize the man's feelings for the woman, with the phrase "Cherokee sweetheart" repeated throughout the lyrics.
Overall, "Cherokee" is a romantic and emotional song that speaks to the power of love and the memories that stay with us long after a relationship has ended.
Line by Line Meaning
Sweet Indian maiden, since first I met you,
Addressing the Native American woman as a sweet maiden since the moment the singer met her
I can't forget you, Cherokee sweetheart.
Expressing the singer's inability to forget about the Native American woman he fell for
Child of the prairie, your love keeps calling,
Referring to the woman as a 'child of the prairie' and acknowledging that her love keeps attracting the singer
My heart enthralling, Cherokee.
Reiterating the Native American woman's captivating influence over the artist's heart
Dreams of summertime, of lover time gone by,
Recollecting memories of summer and past lovers, likely conjured up by thoughts of the Native American woman
Throng my memory so tenderly, and sigh. My
Mentioning how these memories linger with great fondness and elicit sighs
Sweet Indian maiden, one day I'll hold you,
Reaffirming the singer's desire to hold the Native American woman
In my arms fold you, Cherokee.
Concluding the song by stating that the artist will eventually hold the woman in his arms
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Ray Noble
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind