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).
Doodlin
Dee Dee Bridgewater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Makin' a few calls,
Doodlin' weird things,
Usin' the booth walls.
Got me a big date,
Waitin' for my chick,
Puttin' my face on,
I enjoy procrastinating
'Cause I'm busy while I'm waiting,
Doodlin' away, doodlin away
Sittin' and dinin' (dining)
Dinner beginnin',
Started designin'
Usin' the linen,
Talkin' to my date,
Doodlin' my bit,
Waiter got salty,
Told me to please quit
Told the waiter, "Don't be dizzy,
"Can't you see I'm very busy,
"Doodlin' away, doodlin' away."
"Do you doodle all day?"
Asked the waiter in his way,
"Do you doodle all night?"
Told the waiter he was right,
"In your doodlin' way-"
"That's the way I'm gonna stay,"
"Are you thinkin' things right?"
"Doodlin' sheds a lot of light,"
"Don't know what I can do,"
"Ain't nothing you can do,"
"With old doodlin' you,"
"Doodin's all I want to do,"
That's for true!
Why does every single thing I see
Look exactly like a doodle to me?
If I ever have a doubt
What life is all about
I get my pencil out and then commence to doodlin'
And I find it real relaxing
'Specially when I feel that life is really taxing!
'Cause weird designs
They only show what's going on
In weirder minds
Those when you doodle then your noodle's flying blind
Every little thing that you write
Just conceivably might
Be a thought that you capture
While coppin' a wink
Doodlin' takes you beyond what you see
When you write what you think.
I'd feel so lost without my doodlin',
Doodlin' really helps me ease my mind,
I'd be tempest-tossed
Without my doodlin',
When I'm doodlin' there's one thing I find,
Truly, I really really really really really truly truly wanna figure out
What my doodlin's all about.
Later the waiter
Had me arrested,
Took me to Bellevue,
Where I was tested.
Had me a doctor
Probin' my noodle,
'Fore he was half-done,
Taught him to doodle,
Showed him hidden thoughts that linger
Find an outlet through your finger,
Doodlin' away, doodlin' away.
Doctor was real nice,
Told me to be cool,
Looked at the waiter,
Called him the real fool,
Looked at my baby
Told me he dug her,
Got me to doodlin',
So he could bug her,
When he put his arms around her,
Quite to his surprise he found her,
Doodlin' away, doodlin' away
We just doodle all day!
In "Doodlin'" by Dee Dee Bridgewater, the lyrics describe the act of doodling and the different scenarios in which it can take place. The singer talks about doodling while waiting for a big date, in a restaurant while dining with a date, and even while being interrogated by a doctor. The singer also speaks about the benefits of doodling, how it can provide a mental escape when life is overwhelming, and how it can reveal "hidden thoughts" that would have otherwise lingered.
The song's tone is light-hearted and playful, and it encourages listeners to embrace their creativity and allow themselves to get lost in their own thoughts. It also suggests that doodling isn't just a random or pointless activity but can be a vehicle for self-expression and introspection. The song's catchy rhythm and upbeat melody add to its overall fun and carefree vibe.
Line by Line Meaning
Usin' the phone booth,
Using the phone booth to make a few calls and doodlin' weird things on the booth walls.
Got me a big date,
Preparing for a date by putting on makeup and looking slick.
I enjoy procrastinating
Doodling is procrastination but he enjoys it because it keeps him busy while he is waiting.
Sittin' and dinin',
At a dinner, he starts designing and doodling using the linen on the table.
Talkin' to my date,
While talking to his date, he is also doodlin' away.
Waiter got salty,
The waiter gets irritated and tells him to stop doodling.
Don't be dizzy,
Telling the waiter to not be irritated as he is busy doodling.
Asked the waiter in his way,
The waiter questions his doodling habit and asked him if he doodles all the time.
Told the waiter he was right,
Agreeing that he does doodle all the time.
While coppin' a wink
Every little thing that he doodles could be a thought that he captures while taking a nap or resting his eyes.
Truly, I really really really really really truly truly wanna figure out
He truly wants to figure out what his doodling is all about.
Later the waiter
The waiter gets him arrested and taken to Bellevue for testing because of his doodling habit.
Had me a doctor
A doctor probes his mind and eventually starts doodling too.
When he put his arms around her,
He doodles in order to impress the doctor and bug his date when he puts his arms around her.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Horace Silver
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mariad8205
Taking a long trip, packing a big grip, gonna be real hip, gotta be on time
Baby is waitin', anticipatin'
Gotta be matin', marriage is just fine
Honney-moon-in' is for spoonin'
We don't want no one to tune in
While we're at play, doodlin' away
Chek in our hotel, find it is real swell
Where can I find that, Do not disturb sign?
Stoppin' our phone calls, climbing the four walls
No reservations, for us to go dine
Honney-moon-in' is for spoonin'
We don't want no one to tune in
While we're at play, doodlin' away
We just doodle all day
We just doodle all night
We sure like it that way
We don't fuss, we don't fight
Well, what more can I say?
We sure doodle just right
Doodlin' away
We sure like it that way
@huggie123able
One of the most versatile singers working today, Dee Dee could take the phone book and make it sound good! Love her!!
@ChrisBrown-ig5ip
Maybe so but she is singing this one for Horace Silver.
@georgeg43
Horace Silver died today. He left us with some of the finest jazz songs, simple beautiful and pure. This cover is the best!
@ChrisBrown-ig5ip
This is Dee Dee Brigewater's tribute to Horace Silver. She tells the story in the liner notes that when she contacted him about doing an album of vocal versions of his songs, he made it conditional on her using his lyrics. This is what gives the record its magic. Horace Silver also plays piano on two of the tracks. It's worth buying the CD because the sound is considerably better.
@VicodinMA
Damn this is freakin´ hot !
@nachacarri
q genia se trango la trompeta jaja!
@artemis12061966
Sweet !
@TheKoolkanadian
Have you heard Sarah Vaughan's? That's the BEST I've ever heard of the song. This might be 2nd best to my ears. I do have SV's version on here. Dee Dee loves Sarah too. CHEERS!
@georgeb.wolffsohn30
TheKoolkanadian I go w/ LH&R on this one
@2dasimmons
Yes, Sarah is divine! No one compares to her voice unless it's Wintry Phipps who sings sacred songs, not standard/mainstream.