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.
Love Is Here To Stay
Mildred Bailey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not for a year but ever and a day
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies and in time may go
But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Together we're going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
But our love is here to stay
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay
Mildred Bailey's song "Love Is Here to Stay" is a classic love song that speaks to the enduring nature of true love, beyond passing fads like radio, telephone or movies. The theme of the song is that, while other things may come and go, their love will remain constant and continue to grow stronger, bringing them together forever. The song is a celebration of love's ability to withstand the test of time no matter what may happen.
The first verse states the fact that the love between the two people is ever-lasting, not just a temporary obsession, and that it will be there for them always. The second verse emphasizes that the couple is in it for the long haul, and that their love will continue to evolve and mature over time - even long after other things like mountains or physical landmarks come and go.
The song concludes by repeating the verse that talks about the transient nature of mountains and landmarks, yet their love will always be there as a constant. The song reinforces the point that love is true and eternal, and can never be destroyed.
To sum up, the song is a celebration of the fact that love is one thing that is certain and permanent in an otherwise changing and transient world. The bond they share is not just fleeting and temporary, but deeply rooted and will endure forever.
Line by Line Meaning
It's very clear, our love is here to stay
Our love is permanent, lasting and obvious to everyone
Not for a year but ever and a day
Our love will last forever, beyond just one year
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
Technology and popular culture may change and disappear
May just be passing fancies and in time may go
But our love will remain steadfast and true
But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
My beloved, there is no changing our love
Together we're going a long, long way
We will journey together for a lifetime
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
Even a mountain and a fortress can fall apart and decay
They're only made of clay
They are not indestructible, but our love is stronger than that
But our love is here to stay
Our love is permanent and enduring
Lyrics © RALEIGH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aaron Granda
Heard of them thirty years ago. Always assumed they were a mixed couple at a time when that would have been difficult.
Aaron Granda
I always thought Mildred Bailey was black!
daniel stanwyck
One part American Indian