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.
The More I See You
Georgia Gibbs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Each time you're near me the thrill is new
And there is nothing that I wouldn't do for
The rare delight of the sight of you for
The more I see you, the more I want you
Somehow this feeling just grows and grows
With every sigh I become more mad about you
Can you imagine how much I love you?
The more I see you as years go by
I know the only one for me can only be you
My arms won't free you, my heart won't try
I know the only one for me can only be you
My arms won't free you, my heart won't try
The lyrics of Georgia Gibbs's song The More I See You speak to the intense infatuation and love that the songwriter has for the person they are singing to. Every time they see the person, it's like the first time, and the feeling of excitement and thrill is always new. The writer is so enamored with this person that there is nothing they wouldn't do just to get a glimpse of them. The more they see this person, the more they want them. This feeling seems to grow with every breath and sigh, making the writer more and more obsessed with this person. The writer even goes on to say that they know the only person for them is the one they are singing about. They can't imagine living without them, and their arms won't let them go.
Overall, the song is about an intense love and connection with another person. The songwriter is incredibly passionate and obsessed with this person, and they can't imagine living without them. They describe a feeling of intense longing and desire, making it clear that this love is powerful and all-consuming.
Line by Line Meaning
Each time I look at you is like the first time
Every time I see you it feels like the first time because my love for you is fresh and new every day.
Each time you're near me the thrill is new
Every time you are close to me, it feels like a new exciting experience and the thrill never wears off.
And there is nothing that I wouldn't do for
I am willing to do anything for you without hesitation, no matter how big or small the task may be.
The rare delight of the sight of you for
Seeing you is a rare and delightful experience that brings me immense joy and happiness.
The more I see you, the more I want you
The more I see you, the more my desire for you grows stronger and more intense.
Somehow this feeling just grows and grows
My love for you is constantly growing and becoming stronger with each passing day.
With every sigh I become more mad about you
Every time I think of you or sigh, my love and passion for you becomes more intense and overwhelming.
More lost without you and so it goes
Without you, I feel lost and incomplete. My love for you will continue to grow and consume me.
Can you imagine how much I love you?
My love for you is so vast and immense that I wonder if you can truly comprehend the depth of my feelings.
The more I see you as years go by
As time passes, my love for you only grows deeper and more meaningful, and seeing you remains as special as the first time.
I know the only one for me can only be you
I am certain that you are the only one for me, and my heart belongs to no other.
My arms won't free you, my heart won't try
I will never let you go, for my love for you is so strong that my heart will never allow me to give up on us.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MACK GORDON, HARRY WARREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind