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.
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
Georgia Gibbs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Say "Night-ie night" and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Stars fading, but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fading, but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
The song "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" by Georgia Gibbs is a romantic ballad that speaks to the desire to be with someone you love, even when you are not physically together. The singer longs for her lover to dream of her, to hold her tight and tell her he will miss her. The imagery of stars shining above and night breezes whispering love add to the dream-like quality of the song.
The repetition of the phrase "dream a little dream of me" emphasizes the singer's desire to be connected to her lover even in their dreams. The middle section of the song shifts to the singer's own longing for her lover's embrace, with the lines "still craving your kiss, I'm longing to linger till dawn". The song then returns to the theme of sweet dreams, with the hope that the lover will dream of the singer in a peaceful state, free from worry.
Overall, the lyrics of "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" express the universal longing for human connection, even when physical distance separates us. The song resonates with anyone who has ever missed someone they love, and captures the power of dreams to bridge the gap between people.
Line by Line Meaning
Stars shining bright above you
The stars are shining happily up above.
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
The breeze at night is so gentle, it seems to be telling you it loves you.
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
The birds are singing beautifully in the sycamore tree.
Dream a little dream of me
Close your eyes and dream of me, even just a little bit.
Say "Night-ie night" and kiss me
Say goodnight to me and give me a kiss.
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
Embrace me tightly, tell me that you'll miss me when I'm gone.
While I'm alone and blue as can be
I'm feeling alone and sad.
Dream a little dream of me
Close your eyes and dream of me, even just a little bit.
Stars fading, but I linger on, dear
The beautiful stars are fading but I want to stay with you.
Still craving your kiss
I still want your kiss.
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear
I want to stay with you until the morning comes.
Just saying this
I'm just telling you how I feel.
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Have sweet dreams until the sun rises and finds you.
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
Have sweet dreams that make you forget all your worries.
But in your dreams whatever they be
But no matter what you dream about.
Dream a little dream of me
Dream a little dream of me, even just a little bit.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Fabian Andre, Gus Kahn, Wilbur Schwandt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lastknowngood0
Pres would mingle in a crowd of weedies if he saw a Narc he'd say Bing is here. If he saw another Narc he go back and say Bob too. The Crosby's were Stars from back in the day. Nity Nite Princess! <3<3<3
lastknowngood0
😍😘 linger till dawn ruka my dear.♡♡♡