Some of her best known hits are "It's So Peaceful in the Country", "Trust In Me", "Where Are You", "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart", "Small Fry", "Please Be Kind", "Darn That Dream", "Rockin' Chair", "Blame It On My Last Affair", and "Says My Heart".
Born Mildred Rinker in Tekoa, Washington, her mother, Josephine, was an enrolled member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and a devout Roman Catholic. Her father, Charles, played fiddle and called square dances. Her mother played piano every evening after supper and taught Mildred to play and sing. Her brothers were the vocalist and composer Al Rinker, and the lyricist Charles Rinker.
[edit]Career
At the age of seventeen, Bailey moved to Seattle and worked as a sheet music demonstrator at Woolworth's. She married and divorced Ted Bailey, keeping his last name because she thought it sounded more American than Rinker.[3] With the help of her second husband, Benny Stafford, she became an established blues and jazz singer on the West Coast. According to Gary Giddins' book Bing Crosby – A Pocketful of Dreams – The Early Years 1903-1940, in 1925 she secured work for her brother, Al Rinker, and his partner Bing Crosby. Giddins further states that Crosby first heard of Louis Armstrong and other Chicago black jazz records from Bailey's own record collection. Crosby helped Bailey in turn by introducing her to Paul Whiteman. She sang with Paul Whiteman's band from 1929 to 1933 (Whiteman had a popular radio program and when Bailey debuted with her version of "Moaning Low" in 1929, public reaction was immediate, although she did not start recording with Whiteman until late 1931).
Her first two records were as uncredited vocalist for an Eddie Lang Orchestra session in 1929 ("What Kind O' Man Is You?", an obscure Hoagy Carmichael song that was only issued in the UK) and a 1930 recording of "I Like To Do Things For You" for Frankie Trumbauer. She was Whiteman's popular female vocalist through 1932 (recording in a smooth crooning style), when she left the band due to salary disagreements. She then recorded a series of records for Brunswick in 1933 (accompanied by The Dorsey Brothers), as well an all-star session with Benny Goodman's studio band in 1934 that featured Coleman Hawkins.
In the mid-1930s, she recorded with her third husband Red Norvo. A dynamic couple, they earned the nicknames "Mr. and Mrs. Swing". During this period (1936–1939) Norvo recorded for Brunswick (with Bailey as primary vocalist) and Bailey recorded her own set of recordings for Vocalion, often with Norvo's band. Some of her recordings instead featured members of Count Basie's band. Despite her divorce from Norvo, she and Red would continue to record together until 1945. Suffering from diabetes and depression (during her adult life Bailey was overweight), she only made a few recordings following World War II.
Mildred Bailey died December 12, 1951, in Poughkeepsie, New York, of heart failure, aged 44, chiefly due to her diabetes. Her ashes were scattered. Red Norvo outlived Bailey by nearly half a century, dying in April 1999, a week after his 91st birthday.
Georgia On My Mind
Mildred Bailey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That linger in my heart
Make me think of Georgia
Why did we ever part?
Some sweet day when blossoms fall
And all the world's a song
I'll go back to Georgia
Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through
Just an old sweet song keeps
Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind).
Georgia, Georgia, a song of you
Comes as sweet and clear as moonlight through the pines.
Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you.
Georgia, Georgia, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind.
Instrumental Interlude
Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you.
Georgia, Georgia, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind.
Georgia on my mind.
The opening lines of "Melodies bring memories That linger in my heart" set the tone for Mildred Bailey's song, "Georgia on My Mind." The lyrics express the singer's longing for Georgia, a place where she feels she belongs. She reflects on the memories and how they make her think of the place where she left behind. The line "Why did we ever part?" speaks to the singer's regret about leaving Georgia and begs the question about whether it was the right choice or not.
The chorus of "Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through" reiterates the importance of this place in the singer's mind. The sweet melody and clear moonlight through the pines capture the beauty of this southern state. The singer sees no peace but to return to the place she has left behind. The song becomes an old sweet song that keeps Georgia on her mind.
Overall, Mildred Bailey's song "Georgia on My Mind" is a testament to the power of nostalgia and how it can shape our perceptions of a place. It shows how, even after we leave a place behind, it can still linger in our hearts and memories.
Line by Line Meaning
Melodies bring memories
The sound and rhythm of music awaken past experiences and emotions
That linger in my heart
Those memories stay with me and continue to impact my feelings
Make me think of Georgia
They remind me of a specific place, Georgia
Why did we ever part?
I am questioning why I had to leave Georgia and part from what I love
Some sweet day when blossoms fall
A beautiful time in the future, when flowers fall gently, soft and colorful falling leaves reminding the final chapter of of the year
And all the world's a song
Where everything will sound like music and harmony.
I'll go back to Georgia
My destination will be Georgia
'Cause that's where I belong.
I feel like I belong and have a home in Georgia.
Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through
Georgia is significant the entire day
Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind).
I have a nostalgic feeling that lingers and the song keeps Georgia in my mind all the time
Georgia, Georgia, a song of you
Georgia, this tune represents you
Comes as sweet and clear as moonlight through the pines.
It is a beautiful song which has clarity, clarity and it is as beautiful as moonlight shining through the pine trees.
Other arms reach out to me
Others offer me compassion and love
Other eyes smile tenderly
I am seeing more kindness and gentleness from other people's eyes
Still in peaceful dreams I see
When I'm dreaming, I'm finding myself in a peaceful place
The road leads back to you.
And the way back leads straight to you
Georgia, Georgia, no peace I find
Because I am away, I cannot find my peace, I cannot find Georgia's happiness.
Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind.
Until I am back, the familiar sweet song will keep reminding me of Georgia
Contributed by Jake D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@wyndhleodumegwu253
Never knew that Mildred Bailey was American Indian.
I adore her singing from her first note; don't you?
Divas to whom we are perennially indebted:
Bessie Smith
Mildred Rinker Bailey
Billie Holiday
Dorothy Dandrige
Dinah Washington
Pegee Lee
Hazel Scott
Mahalia Jackson
Doris Day...
Lohvissimo!
@LOGANBOGGS-dk9xe
I will always be a Mildred Bailey and I will eternally enjoy this song too and rest in piece forever and always Mildred Bailey.
@danielweir65
Mildred was a real beautiful singer. ❤❤
@larsgsanger3105
❤️
@wyndhleodumegwu253
Never knew that Mildred Bailey was American Indian.
I adore her singing from her first note; don't you?
Divas to whom we are perennially indebted:
Bessie Smith
Mildred Rinker Bailey
Billie Holiday
Dorothy Dandrige
Dinah Washington
Pegee Lee
Hazel Scott
Mahalia Jackson
Doris Day...
Lohvissimo!
@mikedag1176
She is indeed Native American!!
@larsgsanger3105
🌸🌺❤️👍
@wyndhl8309
@Mike Dag Respect 🙏
@BlackIndians-dv1iy
Mildred Bailey was truly a MASTER of the gifts made available to her. BLESS u for posting! What a GENIUS to take IN the GENIUS of Black People who birthed JAZZ , while incorporating her own Tribal influences of the Schitsu'umsh People of Northern Idaho & Eastern Washington. The combination of African & Indigenous culture is so POWERFUL! With a simple SONG, as MEDICINE, we are able to melt the cold=hearted FEAR and break through the terrorizing LIES set in motion by the racist sadism of white male supremacy aimed to profit from our exploitation and white-washed traumatizing colonization. Georgia on my Mind, a song written by 2 college buddies NOT from Georgia, brings not only the sweet haunting melody of Mildred Bailey who gave credit to her the Schitsu'umsh People when given the opportunity, but also lays the ground for Ray Charles, who was just born when the song was written, to take it to an all time HIGH 30 years later. YES!
@marialalasmith9562
Exactly! Speak on it!
@marialalasmith9562
Exactly! Speak on it!