Gibbs was the youngest of four children of Russian Jewish immigrant parents.Her father died when she was six months old, and she spent her first seven years in an orphanage in Worcester, separated from her other siblings.
She revealed a natural talent for singing at a very young age, and was given the lead in the orphanage's yearly variety show. She was reunited with her mother (who had visited her once every other month) when the latter found employment as a midwife. However, her job often forced her to leave her daughter alone for weeks at a time with only a Philco radio for company.
Gibbs began her professional career at the age of thirteen, and was singing in Boston's Raymor Ballroom the following year. She cut her first record with the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra in 1936 (aged 16 or 17). "You don't really know loneliness unless you do a year or two with a one-night band, Gibbs said of her life on the big band circuit. sing until about 2 a.m. Get in a bus and drive 400 miles. Stop in the night for the greasy hamburger. Arrive in a town. Try to sleep. Get up and eat." (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, May 12, 1994.)
She soon found steady work on popular radio shows including Your Hit Parade, Melody Puzzles and The Tim And Irene Show. Gibbs freelanced in the late 1930s and 1940s singing with the bands of Frankie Trumbauer, Hal Kemp, Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw. It was with Shaw's band (then billed as Fredda Gibson) that she scored her first hit, Absent Minded Moon (1942).
In 1943, she changed her name to Georgia Gibbs and began appearing on the popular Camel Caravan radio program, hosted by Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore (it was Moore who bestowed the famous nickname "Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs" upon her). The nickname is a playful reference to her diminutive stature of barely over 5 feet. She was a regular performer on this show until 1947.
Gibbs signed with Majestic Records in 1946, and while she recorded many great records she would have to wait until 1950 for her first hit single, If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Baked A Cake (on the Coral label). During this period she also was the featured singer on tours with comedians Danny Kaye and Sid Caesar. Miss Gibbs had a natural talent for comedy as well, and worked well in support of the immensely popular Kaye. But success as a singer continued to elude her. As noted in a 1952 Time article:
"Georgia," they kept telling her, "you gotta get a sound." Musical soothsayers were trying to get Songstress Georgia Gibbs into line with the latest fashion. Perhaps, they thought, she should sing mechanized duets with herself (like Patti Page), or she might try an echo chamber background (like Peggy Lee). But gimmicks were not Georgia Gibbs's cup of tea. She had a big, old-fashioned voice, a good ear, a vivacious personality, and she knew how to sing from the shoulder. She would stick with plain Georgia Gibbs.
And she eventually had success "sticking with plain Georgia Gibbs". Possessed of a versatile voice, she cut a long list of great records in every category from torch songs to rock-and-roll, to jazz, swing, old fashioned ballads and cha-chas. Her most successful record was Kiss Of Fire which reached the #1 position on the pop music charts in 1952. Kiss of Fire was adapted from the Argentinian tango El Choclo and the lyrics, arrangement and delivery communicate passion on a Wagnerian scale. It immediately became one of the defining songs of the era.
Sultry and throbbing, with a touch of vibrato, Georgia Gibbs' voice is best showcased on romantic ballads and torch songs like Melancholy Baby, I'll Be Seeing You, Autumn Leaves and You Keep Coming Back Like A Song. Yet she could be equally thrilling belting out a red hot jazz numbers like Red Hot Mama and A-Razz-A-Ma-Tazz, or jiving with tunes like Ol Man Mose and Shoo Shoo Baby. Her Swingin' With Her Nibbs album (1956) demonstrated her natural affinity for improvisation as well.
Gibbs continued to be a frequent visitor to the charts throughout the first half of the decade (with over 40 charted songs), and was briefly successful doing rock 'n' roll songs as well. She appeared on many television shows throughout the decade, including the legendary Ed Sullivan show, and hosted one of her own, Georgia Gibbs And Her Million Record Show. She cut her final album, Call Me (1966) and rarely performed after that.
She spent many years being best known for her cover versions of Etta James' The Wallflower (recorded by Gibbs with modified lyrics under the title Dance With Me Henry) and of LaVern Baker's Tweedle Dee (which created some ado due to Ms. Baker's vociferous complaints) and for her novelty number The Hula Hoop Song, which was her last hit, in 1958.
Georgia Gibbs died of leukemia on December 9, 2006, aged 87, at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Dance With Me Henry
Georgia Gibbs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You gotta dance with me Henry (alright baby)
Dance with me Henry (don't mean maybe)
Rock with me Henry (any old time)
Talk to me Henry (don't change your mind)
Dance with me Henry (alright)
You better dance while the music goes on
While the cats are ballin'
You better stop your stallin'
It's intermission in a minute
So you better get with it
Dance with me Henry
You better dance while the music goes on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Ooh-wee
Henry, you ain't movin' me
You better feel that boogie beat
And get the lead out of your feet
You gotta dance with me Henry
Dance with me Henry
Rock with me Henry
Talk to me Henry
Dance with me Henry
You better dance while the music goes on
Roll, roll, roll
Roll, roll, roll
Rock, rock, rock
Rock, rock, rock
Roll, roll, roll
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Rock with me Henry (alright baby)
Dance with me Henry (don't mean maybe)
Rock with me Henry (any old time)
Dance with me Henry (don't change your mind)
Jump with me Henry (alright)
You better dance, dance
While the music goes on
Roll on
Roll on
Roll on
Roll on
Rock
with me Henry
The lyrics to "Dance With Me Henry" by Georgia Gibbs are a playful and flirtatious call to dance. The singer is addressing a man named Henry, asking him what she needs to do to make a hit with him. The answer is clear – he needs to dance with her. The song is an upbeat and energetic rock and roll track that encourages listeners to get up and move their feet.
The lyrics are filled with commands to dance and rock out with the rhythm. The singer urges Henry to stop stalling and to dance with her before the intermission comes. She playfully teases him, saying that he better feel the boogie beat and get the lead out of his feet. The lyrics also feature repetition, with the chorus repeating the phrases "dance with me Henry," "rock with me Henry," and "talk to me Henry."
In "Dance With Me Henry," Georgia Gibbs delivers a confident and sassy performance that makes the listener want to dance. The lyrics are flirty and fun, but also convey a sense of urgency to not waste any time and seize the moment. Overall, the song is a celebration of the joy of dancing and the pleasure of sharing that experience with someone.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey baby, what do I have to do to make a hit with you?
Asking for what she can do to become successful in his eyes
You gotta dance with me Henry (alright baby)
Emphasizing the need to dance with her, showing her excitement
Dance with me Henry (don't mean maybe)
Reiterating the need to dance without uncertainty
Rock with me Henry (any old time)
Adding another dance style to the mix
Talk to me Henry (don't change your mind)
Asking Henry to converse and not change his decision to dance with her
Dance with me Henry (alright)
Repeating the need to dance with her with enthusiasm
You better dance while the music goes on
Advising Henry to dance while the music is still playing
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Encouraging Henry to keep moving to the beat
While the cats are ballin'
Referring to others enjoying the music and dancing
You better stop your stallin'
Telling Henry to stop hesitating and start dancing
It's intermission in a minute
Stating that there will be a break soon
So you better get with it
Urging Henry to start dancing while he still can
Henry, you ain't movin' me
Not impressed with Henry's current dance performance
You better feel that boogie beat
Encouraging Henry to feel the rhythm and beat of the music
And get the lead out of your feet
Telling Henry to loosen up and dance freely
Dance with me Henry
Repeating the need to dance with her
Rock with me Henry
Repeating the need to dance in another style
Talk to me Henry
Repeating the need to converse with her
Jump with me Henry (alright)
Adding yet another style of dance and encouraging Henry to jump
You better dance, dance
Emphasizing the need to dance with excitement
Roll on
Encouraging Henry to keep the movement going
Rock
Encouraging Henry to rock out to the music
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Hank Ballard, Etta James, Johnny Otis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chris Cox
I heard my mom sing this. So I thought I would check it out. I can close my eyes and still hear her
Zona Gale
I can too. My mother would fit some dance steps in while singing and cooking.
seraphyne13
My grandma used to sing old songs like this all the time. She'd always sing one that I thought went "Dance with me, Hindee". Well, she's been dead almost 4 years now. I've trying to find that song for years. I've found some of the others but never anything about "Hindee". Looking up stuff tonight, I saw something that said "Henry" and I thought that maybe I was just hearing it wrong so I looked it up. That search led me to this and now I'm pretty certain I've finally found song. It fits with the time frame. She was born in 1933 so she would have been 22 when this came out. It's great to remember her singing before the dementia kicked in. She couldn't carry a tune in a bucket but, like she always said "God always said make a joyful noise!". I like to imagine her young, dancing around the house with my aunt (her daughter), who would have been three years old, holding my dad in one arm. My dad would have been a baby being born on the same year this song came out. Maybe my granddad had just gotten home and danced with them. Who knows? It's something I like to think about.
taffygirl
My mom had this as a 45 and we wore it out!
J T
My mother died a year ago and for some reason, this song came to mind tonight. Mom was a terrible singer and only knew a few of the words, but I can still hear her singing "Dance with me, Henry. Alright, Baby" (completely off-key, of course!)
Virginia Paige Love
My mother wrote in my baby book that this was the first song I ever sang.
dj horizontl
When I was toddler I had (and still have) a monkey toy that was my height and I named him Henry because I could dance with him.
George Vreeland Hill
A classic from an era that we all should listen to more often.
HarborCovian
Everyone had this song in their 45rpm record collection back in the R & R era.
Ted Winkelman
I can remember my mom singing this song at a PTA meeting at my school back in 55. Those were great 👍 years.