Grant was born as Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the eldest of six children of Russian Jewish parents, Rose (née Jacobson) and Alexander Arinsberg. At the age of 12, she moved to Los Angeles, where she attended Venice High School. In California, she won a teenage singing contest and appeared on television talent shows.
She worked as a car salesperson in the early 1950s.In 1952 she began to record, using first the name "Audrey Brown" and later "Audrey Grant." She was given the name "Gogi" by Dave Kapp, the head of Artists and Repertory at RCA Victor, who liked to patronize a restaurant called "Gogi's LaRue." (Another source says that Grant asked Kapp, "What is a Gogi?" She continued, "His answer was, 'Darned if I know, I dreamed it last night.'")
In 1955 Grant signed with a small record company, Era Records, and had her first top ten hit with "Suddenly There's a Valley." The next year, she had an even bigger hit, reaching number 1 on Billboard 's Top 100 chart with "The Wayward Wind" and holding there for six weeks. The song sold over one million copies in the United States alone, and peaked at No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart. She was voted the most popular female vocalist by Billboard magazine. This single returned to the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.
In 1957, she supplied the vocals for Ann Blyth's portrayal of Helen Morgan in the biographical film, The Helen Morgan Story. The soundtrack occasioned her return to RCA Victor (the soundtrack album climbed to No. 25 in the Billboard album chart), where she had a minor hit the following year with "Strange Are the Ways of Love." Moreover, she was signed to star in The Big Beat in the spring of 1957. The film, which featured musical performances by the Cal Tjader Quintet, George Shearing, and the Del Vikings, was produced and directed by William Cowan and released in February 1958.
In 1958, Grant was one of the three solo singers featured in the first stereo LP of the classic musical Show Boat. The other solo singers were Howard Keel, who had appeared in the 1951 film version of the show, and Anne Jeffreys.
Although she made albums and appeared on television into the 1960s, her popularity declined and she initially retired from singing in 1967 after a final US chart single, "The Sea" (top 20 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart). An album of hers was released in UK some 20 years later. Grant survived cancer surgery and was in remission. In 2004, aged 80, she made an appearance on the PBS 1950s pop music special Magic Moments and sang "The Wayward Wind."
Grant headlined with The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies in Palm Springs, California. One of her more notable appearances of her later years was with the Follies on December 31, 2006. She was still performing as late as 2013, at the age of 89.
In 1959, Grant married attorney Robert Rifkind. The couple had two children.
Grant died on March 10, 2016, aged 91. Her death was announced by her son, Joshua Beckett. She also had a daughter, Jeri Brown.
I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
Gogi Grant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was the sweetest melody
I know I lost heaven 'cause you were the song
Since you and I have drifted apart
Life doesn't mean a thing to me
Please come back, sweet music, I know I was wrong
You know that we were meant to be more than just friends, just friends
I let a song go out of my heart
Believe me, darlin', when I say
I won't know sweet music until you return some day
I let a song go out of my heart
Believe me, darlin', when I say
I won't know sweet music until you return some day
In Gogi Grant's song "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart," the singer laments losing the most beautiful melody in her heart, which she lets slip away due to her carelessness. The song is about a lost love, and by letting the song go, she also loses that love. The opening lines describe her regretful state of mind, where the melody was the sweetest she ever had. The phrase "I know I lost Heaven" suggests that she lost the state of bliss achieved by being in love, and the music that accompanied it was equally powerful.
As she sings, "Since you and I have drifted apart, life doesn't mean a thing to me," it is clear that the loss of her true love has left her in despair, with nothing to hold on to. The only thing that could comfort her was the melody, which she also let go. In the next line, she begs for the music to come back, acknowledging that she was wrong to let it go. She desperately wants to make amends and move beyond just being friends.
The chorus of the song, "I won't know sweet music until you return someday," is where the regretful emotions are most visible. Gogi Grant's voice conveys her lovesick condition, urging her beloved to come back, as only then will her life be complete. The song offers an intimate glimpse of a person's deep emotional connections with music, love, and life, as music is not only a source of joy, but also a symbol of profound passion and pain.
Line by Line Meaning
I let a song go out of my heart
I regret letting go of something so precious to me - my music and the passion it brought me.
It was the sweetest melody
My song was not only important to me but also something that had the ability to reach out to others in a uniquely beautiful way.
I know I lost heaven 'cause you were the song
By losing my music, I lost a part of myself that was heavenly and divine, bringing me closest to my own truth.
Since you and I have drifted apart
Ever since you and our relationship have ended, something in me has shifted, and I haven't been able to find that perfect harmony again.
Life doesn't mean a thing to me
Without my song, my music, my life has lost all meaning - I am adrift and lost.
Please come back, sweet music, I know I was wrong
I desperately want my music, my song, to come back to me. I realize now that it was a part of me, and I was wrong to let it go.
Am I too late to make amends?
I wonder if there's still a chance to make things right, to bring back the music and the passion that has been missing from my life.
You know that we were meant to be more than just friends, just friends
I remember the good times we had together, and I know that we were more than just friends - we shared a special connection that was once the source of my music.
Believe me, darlin', when I say
My love and longing for the music is genuine and true, and it is a part of me that I cannot live without.
I won't know sweet music until you return some day
Without my song, the sweetest music in the world, I am incomplete, and I long for the day when it returns to my heart and soul.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Duke Ellington, Henry Nemo, John Redmond, Irving Mills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dchern
How refreshing a song where you can understand the lyrics and the melody is catchy
@quinndeejee9564
Lyrics are in the description! Thanks to https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Gogi-Grant/I-Let-a-Song-Go-Out-of-My-Heart for providing them.