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.
Gulf Coast Blues
Mildred Bailey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He has left his mama cold for another gal I'm told
I tried to treat him kind, I thought he would be mine
That man I hate to lose, that's why mama's got the blues
The man I love he has done left this town
The man I love he has done left this town
And if it keeps on snowing, I will be Gulf Coast bound
The mail man passed but he didn't leave no news
I'll tell the world he left me with those Gulf Coast blues
Some of you men sure do make me tired
Some of you men sure do make me tired
You've got a mouthful of "gimme", a handful of "much oblige"
The first verse describes a woman who is feeling blue because her man has left her cold for another woman. She had treated him kindly and thought he would belong to her but he left her anyways. She hates to lose him and it's making her feel sad, hence the blues. The second verse talks about how the man she loves has left the town and if it continues to snow, she will have to move to the gulf coast. The mailman came but he did not give any news to the woman. She tells the world that she has been left with Gulf Coast blues due to the man's absence. The third verse is about how some men make her tired because they always say "gimme" and demand things, but never appreciate or reciprocate the love she gives them.
The lyrics heavily rely on the idea of longing and lost love. The woman has lost the man she loves and the cause of this lost love seems to be infidelity which is something that universally leads to sadness and heartbreak. This theme has been explored in numerous blues songs and is used here to evoke feelings of pain and sorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been blue all day, my man's gone away
I've been feeling sad and down all day because my man has left me.
He has left his mama cold for another gal I'm told
I heard that he left me to be with another woman, leaving me feeling cold and alone.
I tried to treat him kind, I thought he would be mine
I tried my best to treat him with kindness, hoping that he would stay with me.
That man I hate to lose, that's why mama's got the blues
I really didn't want to lose him, which is why I'm feeling so down and upset.
The man I love he has done left this town
The man I love has left this town and is no longer with me.
And if it keeps on snowing, I will be Gulf Coast bound
If the weather keeps getting bad, I might have to move to the Gulf Coast to start over.
The mail man passed but he didn't leave no news
The mailman came but didn't bring me any news or letters from my man.
I'll tell the world he left me with those Gulf Coast blues
I want everyone to know that my man left me feeling depressed and despondent.
Some of you men sure do make me tired
Some of you men really wear me out with your endless demands and expectations.
You've got a mouthful of "gimme", a handful of "much oblige"
You always ask for more and more without showing any gratitude or appreciation.
Contributed by Daniel V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.