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.
How Are Things In Glocca Morra
Georgia Gibbs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It well may be he's bringing me a cheering word.
I hear a breeze, a River Shanon breeze,
It well may be it's followed me across the seas.
Then tell me please
How are things in Glocca Morra?
Is that little brook still leaping there?
Through Killybegs, Kilkerry and Kildare?
How are things in Glocca Mora?
Is that willow tree still weeping there?
Does that lassie with the twinklin' eye
Come smilin' by and does she walk away,
Sad and dreamy there not to see me there?
So I ask each weepin' willow and each brook along the way,
And each lass that comes a-sighin' too ra lay
How are things in Glocca Morra this fine day?
The lyrics of Georgia Gibbs's song "How Are Things In Glocca Morra" paint a vivid picture of a person longing for their home in Glocca Morra, with the help of the imagery of the Londonderry bird and the River Shanon breeze. The singer of the song asks the willow tree, the brook running to Donny cove, and the lassie with the twinkling eye about how things are back home. The song speaks to feelings of homesickness and nostalgia, with a sense of tender longing.
The song is also filled with references to Irish folklore and traditions, with mentions of the River Shanon and Killybegs, Kilkerry, and Kildare. The song encapsulates the romanticized image of Ireland in popular culture, with its visions of rolling hills, weeping willows, and charming lassies.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear a bird, Londonderry bird,
I am listening to the chirping of a bird originating from Londonderry; it might be that the bird is going to bring me comforting news.
It well may be he's bringing me a cheering word.
It is highly possible that the bird is carrying some good tidings and will shortly bring them to me.
I hear a breeze, a River Shanon breeze,
I can feel the wind blowing, which might be coming from River Shanon; it is as if the wind is following me throughout my travels.
It well may be it's followed me across the seas.
It is highly plausible that the breeze has accompanied me across the seas to my current location.
Then tell me please
With all these signs, I am curious to know and would like to ask:
How are things in Glocca Morra?
I am interested in knowing the current status of Glocca Morra.
Is that little brook still leaping there?
I am curious if the small stream is still jumping around cheerfully in Glocca Morra.
Does it still run down to Donny cove?
I wonder if the brook still flows through the Donny Cove.
Through Killybegs, Kilkerry and Kildare?
I am interested in knowing whether the brook flows downstream through Killybegs, Kilkerry, and Kildare or not.
How are things in Glocca Mora?
I am interested in knowing the current status of Glocca Morra.
Is that willow tree still weeping there?
I am wondering if the willow tree still exists there and still seems to be crying.
Does that lassie with the twinklin' eye
I am curious about the young girl with the sparkling eyes;
Come smilin' by and does she walk away,
I want to know if she still passes by with a smile and then disappears from sight.
Sad and dreamy there not to see me there?
Does this girl feel melancholic and mournful when she realizes that I am not present there?
So I ask each weepin' willow and each brook along the way,
I make inquiries from each sad willow and every stream that I pass by;
And each lass that comes a-sighin' too ra lay
Also, I ask every young lady who happens to be passing by with a sigh, yearning for someone or something.
How are things in Glocca Morra this fine day?
Once again, I inquire about the present situation in Glocca Morra on this beautiful day.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: BURTON LANE, E. Y. HARBURG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eva Landry
Good Grief--I haven't heard this version since Gerald Ford was in office :-)....LOVE your music taste!