Merrill's recording career has spanned six decades and she is popular with fans of jazz in Japan and Italy (where she lived for many years) as well as in her native United States. She has recorded and performed with some of the most notable figures in the American jazz scene.
Youth and early career in the states
Merrill was born in 1930 to Croatian immigrant parents. She began singing in jazz clubs in the Bronx at the age of fourteen. By the time she was sixteen, Merrill had taken up music full time. In 1952, Merrill made her recording debut when she was asked to sing "A Cigarette For Company" with the Earl Hines Band; the song was released on their Xanadu album. Etta Jones made her debut on the same album.
At this time she was married to musician Aaron Sachs. They divorced in 1956.
As a result of the exposure she received from "A Cigarette for Company" and two subsequent singles recorded for the Roost record label, Merrill was signed by Mercury Records for their new EmArcy label.
In 1954, Merrill recorded her first (and to date most acclaimed) LP, an eponymous record featuring legendary jazz trumpet player Clifford Brown and bassist/cellist Oscar Pettiford, among others. It was to be one of Brown's last recordings, as he was killed in a car accident just two years later. The album was produced and arranged by Quincy Jones, who was then just twenty-one years old. The success of Helen Merrill prompted Mercury to sign her for an additional four-album contract.
Merrill's follow-up to Helen Merrill was the 1956 LP, Dream of You, which was produced and arranged by bebop arranger and pianist Gil Evans. Evans' work on Dream of You was his first in many years. His arrangements on Merrill's laid the musical foundations for his work in following years with Miles Davis.
Success abroad
After recording sporadically through the late 1950s and 1960s, Merrill spent much of her time touring Europe, where she enjoyed more commercial success than she had in the United States. She settled for a time in Italy recording an album there, and doing live concerts with jazz notables Chet Baker, Romano Mussolini, and Stan Getz. Merrill returned to the U.S. in the 1960s, but moved to Japan in 1967 after touring there. Merrill developed a following in Japan that remains strong to this day. In addition to recording while in Japan, Merrill became involved in other aspects of the music industry, producing albums for Trio Records and hosting a show on a Tokyo radio station.
Later career
Merrill returned to the US in 1972 and has continued recording and regular touring since then. Her later career has seen her experiment in different music genres. She has recorded a bossa nova album, a Christmas album and a record's worth of Rodgers and Hammerstein, among many others.
Two albums from Merrill's later career have been tributes to past musical partners. In 1987, Merrill and Gil Evans recorded fresh arrangements of their classic Dream of You; the new recordings were released under the title Collaboration and became the most critically acclaimed of Merrill's albums in the 1980s.
In 1987 she co-produced a CD "Billy Eckstine sing with Benny Carter" and sing in duet with Mr.B two ballads.
In 1995 she recorded Brownie: Homage to Clifford Brown as a tribute to the late trumpeter.
One of Merrill's millennium released recordings draws from her Croatian heritage as well as her American upbringing. Jelena Ana Milcetic, a.k.a. Helen Merrill (2000), combines jazz, pop and blues songs with several traditional Croatian songs sung in Croatian.
Helen Merrill has been married three times, first to musician Aaron Sachs, second time to UPI vice president the late Donald J Brydon, and third to arranger-conductor the late Torrie Zito. She has one child, a son, Allan P Sachs, also a singer, who is professionally known as Alan Merrill.
Born To Be Blue
Helen Merrill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But they are such a chosen few.
And clover being green is something I've never seen
'Cause I was born to be blue.
When there's a yellow moon above me,
They say there's moonbeams I should view
But moonbeams being gold are something I can't behold
When I met you the world was bright and sunny
When you left the curtain fell
I'd like to laugh but nothing strikes me funny
Now my world's a faded pastel
Well, I guess I'm luckier than some folks,
I've known the thrill of loving you.
And that alone is more than I was created for
'Cause I was born to be blue.
In "Born to Be Blue" by Helen Merrill, the lyrics express the feeling of being destined for a life of melancholy and sorrow. The first line, "Some folks were meant to live in clover, but they are such a chosen few," suggests that not everyone is meant to have an easy life, and that the singer is not one of the lucky few. The following line, "And clover being green is something I've never seen, 'cause I was born to be blue," further emphasizes this point, as the singer has never experienced the blissful ease of a life in clover, and instead is destined to suffer.
The second stanza continues with the same theme, as the singer describes how the supposed beauty of a yellow moon is lost on them, as they are unable to experience it. The line, "But moonbeams being gold are something I can't behold, 'cause I was born to be blue," suggests that the singer is unable to find joy or see the beauty in the world around them. However, the song takes a poignant turn in the final stanza. The singer acknowledges that despite their struggles, they have known the "thrill of loving you," and that alone is enough to make their life worth living.
Line by Line Meaning
Some folks were meant to live in clover,
There are some people who are destined to have a life of luxury and ease.
But they are such a chosen few.
However, those people are rare and few in number.
And clover being green is something I've never seen
I have never experienced a life of good fortune, represented by the metaphorical 'green clover'.
'Cause I was born to be blue.
My destiny has always been to lead a difficult and sorrowful life, symbolized by the 'blue' color.
When there's a yellow moon above me,
Even when there is happiness around me,
They say there's moonbeams I should view
Some people might see opportunities and positivity.
But moonbeams being gold are something I can't behold
Unfortunately, those things are out of my reach.
'Cause I was born to be blue.
Just as before, my destiny is one of sadness and hardship.
When I met you the world was bright and sunny
When I was with you, my life felt full of joy and possibility.
When you left the curtain fell
But when you left, everything changed for the worse.
I'd like to laugh but nothing strikes me funny
Even when I want to be happy, there is nothing that can bring me joy.
Now my world's a faded pastel
My life is now dull and muted, losing any brightness it had before.
Well, I guess I'm luckier than some folks,
Still, I am aware that there are people who have it worse than I do.
I've known the thrill of loving you.
Despite the hardship, I am grateful for the experience of having once loved and been loved.
And that alone is more than I was created for
In fact, that experience gives me a sense of fulfillment beyond what I thought was possible.
'Cause I was born to be blue.
Ultimately, though, my life's path was always meant to be one of melancholy and struggle.
Lyrics © REGENT MUSIC CORPORATION
Written by: Mel Torme, Robert Wells
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@arlene1934corwin
Love this!! The best of all the arrangements out there. And Helen Merrill is something to die for.
@DefenestrateYourself
Helen Merrill + Clifford Brown + Quincy Jones = absolute aural pleasure.
@daytonwilder7645
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@kadehoward2371
@Dayton Wilder instablaster :)
@daytonwilder7645
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@daytonwilder7645
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@TheJosieposie
My go-to song when somebody's just broken your heart...
@mariolongo7369
Thanks for this gem!👍
@olivadelrosario1807
The best version of this song!
@mannymurillo2671
Check out chet baker