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.
Ill Be Seeing You
Georgia Gibbs Lyrics
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That this heart of mine embraces all day through
In that small cafe, the park across the way
The children's carousel,
The chestnut trees, the wishing well
I'll be seeing you in every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll find you in the morning' sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you
I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you
In Georgia Gibbs's song "I'll Be Seeing You," she talks about how even though her loved one is gone, she will continue to see them in all the familiar places that her heart embraces. The lyrics speak of specific places such as a small cafe, a park, a children's carousel, chestnut trees, and a wishing well. These places are where the memories of her loved one still linger and she feels their presence around her. She also talks about seeing her loved one in every lovely summer's day, in everything that's light and gay, and that she will always think of them in that way.
The lyrics further emphasize that she will eventually find her loved one in the morning's sun and when the night is new, she will look at the moon, but will still be able to see her loved one. The song is emotional and heartwarming as it underscores how memories can be powerful and help people cope with the loss of their loved ones. The song's melodies are mellow and calming, which our ears can feel.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places
I will keep seeing you in every place where we used to spend time together
That this heart of mine embraces all day through
My heart keeps you close all day long
In that small cafe, the park across the way
I'll see you in the familiar surroundings of the small cafe and the park nearby
The children's carousel,
I'll remember you when I'm at the children's carousel
The chestnut trees, the wishing well
Even the sight of chestnut trees and the wishing well will remind me of you
I'll be seeing you in every lovely summer's day
You'll be on my mind on every beautiful summer day
In everything that's light and gay
My thoughts of you will be cheerful and bright
I'll always think of you that way
I'll remember you as someone who emanates happiness and light
I'll find you in the morning' sun
I'll keep seeing you in the warmth and glow of the morning sun
And when the night is new
Even on the first night of a new day, I'll still be thinking of you
I'll be looking at the moon
I'll be gazing at the moon, but you'll still be on my mind
But I'll be seeing you
No matter where I am, I will keep seeing you every step of the way
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Irving Kahal, Sammy Fain
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fox Fetterworth
What a magnificent voice! She was one of the greatest vocalists of the 1950s but never really got the acclaim she deserved..