Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitzin on 17 August 1919 in Worcester, Mass… Read Full Bio ↴Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitzin on 17 August 1919 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA – 9 December 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz.

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.

Rock Right
Georgia Gibbs Lyrics

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Rock right
Soon as you get off the train
Rock right
Til you get to 4th and Main

Rock right
Right into the ice cream shop
Get a couple of quarts

And soda pop

Rock right
Til you pass the parking lot
Rock right
Til you reach the coffee pot

Rock right
When you reach the skating rink
Get to Betty and Joan
And Fran and Dee

The folks went to the movies
They left the house to me
We'll get that big beat rolling
What a bash it's gonna be

Rock right
Til you reach the junior high
Rock right
There's a little church nearby

Rock right
Then you hear a solid four
Come a rocking and a rolling
Through my front door

Rock, rock, rock
Rock right
Rock, rock, rock
Rock right
Rock, rock, rock
Rock right

Rock, rock, rock
Rock right
Rock, rock, rock
Rock right
Rock, rock, rock
Rock right

The folks went to the movies
They left the house to me
We'll get that big beat rolling
What a bash it's gonna be

Rock right
Til you reach the junior high
Rock right
There's a little church nearby

Rock right
Then you hear a solid four

Come a rocking and a rolling
Through my front door

Overall Meaning

The song "Rock Right" by Georgia Gibbs is a fun and upbeat track that encourages listeners to let loose and dance. The lyrics depict someone getting off a train and immediately starting to dance their way through the town, hitting up various spots along the way. The chorus repeats the phrase "rock right" to emphasize the idea of dancing and having a good time. The verses mention specific locations, such as an ice cream shop, parking lot, and skating rink. At the end of the song, the lyrics reference a party happening at the singer's house while their parents are out at the movies.

Overall, "Rock Right" can be interpreted as a call to action for listeners to embrace their love of dancing and music. The lyrics paint a picture of carefree youths who are excited to let loose and enjoy their surroundings. The focus on specific places and activities highlights the idea of community and shared experiences, which adds to the feeling of joy and camaraderie in the song.

Line by Line Meaning

Rock right
Let's dance with enthusiasm

Soon as you get off the train
Let's start dancing as soon as you arrive

Til you get to 4th and Main
Keep dancing until you reach the intersection of 4th and Main

Right into the ice cream shop
Go directly to the ice cream shop

Get a couple of quarts
Buy a few containers of ice cream

And soda pop
And also purchase some soda to go with it

Til you pass the parking lot
Keep dancing until you've gone past the parking lot

Til you reach the coffee pot
Keep rockin' until you reach the coffee pot

When you reach the skating rink
Once you get to the skating rink

Get to Betty and Joan
Go find Betty and Joan among the people there

And Fran and Dee
And look for Fran and Dee as well