As a vocalist, Maxine Sullivan was active for half a century, from the mid-1930s to just before her death in 1987. She is best known for her 1937 recording of a swing version of the Scottish folk song "Loch Lomond". Throughout her career, Sullivan also appeared as a performer on film as well as on stage. A precursor to better-known later vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan, Maxine Sullivan is considered one of the best jazz vocalists of the 1930s.
Maxine Sullivan was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania in 1911. Sullivan began her music career singing in her uncle's band, The Red Hot Peppers, in her native Pennsylvania, in which she occasionally played the flugelhorn and the valve trombone, in addition to singing. In the mid-1930s she was discovered by Gladys Mosier (then working in Ina Rae Hutton's big band). Mosier introduced her to Claude Thornhill, which led to her first recordings made in June of 1937. Shorty thereafter, Sullivan became a featured vocalist at the Onyx Club in New York. During this period, she began forming a professional and close personal relationship with bassist John Kirby, to whom she was married from 1938 to 1941.
Early sessions with Kirby in 1937 yielded a hit recording of a swing version of the Scottish folk song "Loch Lomond" featuring Sullivan on vocals. This early success "branded" Sullivan's style, leading her to sing similar swing arrangements of traditional folk tunes mostly arranged by pianist Claude Thornhill, such as "Darling Nellie Gray", "I Dream of Jeanie", "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes", and "If I Had a Ribbon Bow". Her early popularity also led to a brief appearance in the movie Going Places opposite Louis Armstrong. In 1940, Sullivan and Kirby were featured on the radio program Flow Gently Sweet Rhythm, making them the first black jazz stars to have their own weekly radio series. From 1940-1942, Sullivan often performed with her husband Kirby's sextet. During the 1940s Sullivan then performed with a wide range of bands, including those of Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter, and Jimmie Lunceford. Sullivan also performed at many of New York's hottest jazz spots such as the Ruban Bleu, the Village Vanguard, the Blue Angel, and the Penthouse.
In 1956, Sullivan shifted away from her earlier style and recorded the album A Tribute to Andy Razaf. Originally on the Period record label, A Tribute to Andy Razaf featured Sullivan's interpretations of a dozen tunes featuring the lyrics of the poet and lyricist Andy Razaf. The album also highlighted the music of Fats Waller, including versions of "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now", "How Can you Face Me?", "My Fate is in Your Hands", "Honeysuckle Rose", "Ain't Misbehavin'", and "Blue Turning Grey Over You". Sullivan was joined by a sextet that was reminiscent of John Kirby's group of 15 years prior, including trumpeter Charlie Shavers and clarinetist Buster Bailey. In 1953 Sullivan starred in the play, Take a Giant Step.
From 1958 to 1966, Sullivan began working as a nurse and raising her children, which largely consumed most of her time. Her music career did not reassert itself until 1966, when she began performing in jazz festivals alongside her new husband, Cliff Jackson, who can be heard on the 1966 live recording of Sullivan's performance at the Manassas Jazz Festival.
Sullivan continued to perform throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and produced an output of recordings during the 1980s despite being over 70 years old. She was nominated for the 1979 Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in My Old Friends. She participated in a documentary film portrait, Maxine Sullivan: Love to Be in Love, shortly before her death.
Maxine Sullivan died in 1987 in New York. She was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998.
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
Maxine Sullivan Lyrics
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Every time we say goodbye, I wonder why a little,
Why the gods above me, who must be in the know.
Think so little of me, they allow you to go.
When you're near, there's such an air of spring about it,
I can hear a lark somewhere, begin to sing about it,
There's no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to minor,
Every time we say goodbye.
When you're near, there's such an air of spring about it,
I can hear a lark somewhere, begin to sing about it,
There's no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to minor,
Every time we say goodbye.
The song "Every Time We Say Goodbye" by Maxine Sullivan is a poignant and melancholic expression of the emotions that arise when a loved one has to depart. The opening line, "Every time we say goodbye, I die a little," is a powerful poetic expression of the pain felt when a relationship is cut short, and the heartache that comes with its inevitable end. The line is notable for the way it conveys the finality of the situation, and the way it elicits empathy from the listener.
The song continues with an expression of perplexity and questioning, "Every time we say goodbye, I wonder why a little," which highlights the mystery and complexity of love and the feelings that arise when it is taken away. The subsequent lines contrast the joy and lightness of being in love with the sadness and despair that inevitably comes with separation. When the singer is near their loved one, "there's such an air of spring about it," and "there's no love song finer," but every time they say goodbye, there is a "strange change from major to minor," which is a reference to the shift from the bright, major key to the darker, minor key. This metaphorical shift emphasizes the different emotional states that are evoked by being with someone versus being without them.
Line by Line Meaning
Every time we say goodbye, I die a little,
The pain of saying goodbye to you slowly kills me inside.
Every time we say goodbye, I wonder why a little,
Each farewell makes me question why fate has to be so cruel to take you away from me.
Why the gods above me, who must be in the know.
I wonder why the higher powers, who are supposed to have all the answers, allow us to be separated.
Think so little of me, they allow you to go.
Perhaps these beings don't think much of me, since they allow you to leave without a second thought.
When you're near, there's such an air of spring about it,
Your presence makes my surroundings come alive, just like the arrival of springtime.
I can hear a lark somewhere, begin to sing about it,
Your presence fills my heart with joy, much like the sound of a lark's melodious singing.
There's no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to minor,
Our love is so beautiful and sweet, yet every time we depart, it feels like a sad and mournful ending.
Every time we say goodbye.
Even though we part ways frequently, it doesn't get any easier or less painful.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Sentric Music, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fromthesidelines
Recorded on January 8, 1945, and originally released on Musicraft {78} 317. The Teddy Wilson Quintet, accompanying Maxine, were as follows:
Teddy Wilson, piano
Charlie Shavers, trumpet
Red Norvo, vibraphone
Billy Taylor, bass
Morey Feld, drums
@stars2luv
I can hear her influence in both Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday!