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.
Says My Heart
Mildred Bailey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"It's romance, take a chance" says my heart
But each time that I'm almost in your arms
This old school-teacher brain of mine
Keeps ringing in false alarms
Then my head rules instead and I'm wise
To the schemes of that gleam in your eyes
so I kiss and run
"Oh! You fool that was love!"
Says my heart
(Repeat)
The lyrics of Says My Heart by Mildred Bailey are quite straightforward, as they illustrate the conflict between the heart and the mind when it comes to matters of love. The heart wants to fall in love and take a chance despite the risks involved, but the brain keeps raising doubts and cautionary alarms. The singer of the song seems to be torn between following her emotions and listening to reason. When the opportunity to get close to someone arises, she gives in to the temptation but then retreats, regretting her hesitation and longing for more. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the constant battle between the heart and the head, and the bittersweet tone of the melody conveys both the excitement and the disappointment of love.
One of the interesting facts about this song is that it was written by two of the most successful songwriting duos of the 1930s: Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. They composed hits for many Hollywood musicals, including Singin' in the Rain, Top Hat, and The Wizard of Oz. Says My Heart was featured in the movie On the Avenue, starring Dick Powell and Madeleine Carroll. Mildred Bailey, who was known as the "Rockin' Chair Lady" for her signature song, was a popular jazz singer of the era and recorded the song with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra.
Line by Line Meaning
Fall in love, fall in love says my heart
My heart is encouraging me to fall in love and experience the wonders of romance.
It's romance, take a chance says my heart
My heart is telling me to take a chance on romance and enjoy the excitement of new love.
But each time that I'm almost in your arms
Although I am drawn to you and close to being in your embrace,
This old school-teacher brain of mine
my logical and analytical mind, conditioned by my profession as a teacher,
Keeps ringing in false alarms
causes me to overthink and doubt, creating false alarms and concerns.
Then my head rules instead and I'm wise
I listen to my head instead, which is practical and rational, and make wise choices.
To the schemes of that gleam in your eyes
I am aware of the deceptive motives behind the charm and attraction in your eyes.
So I kiss and run
I give in to the temptation of the moment and kiss you, but then retract quickly.
But the moment we're apart
Once I have left your presence and reflected on what happened,
"Oh! You fool that was love!"
My heart realizes that I have made a mistake and that the kiss and attraction I felt was actually love and not just a fleeting moment.
Says my heart
Ultimately, my heart prevails and proves that true love cannot be ignored or avoided.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BURTON LANE, FRANK LOESSER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Trombonology
Mildred was a masterful interpreter; her sly sense of humor reveals itself in her reading of these cute lyrics, featuring a line I love: "This old school teacher brain of mine keeps ringing false alarms." The brilliant and swingingly sophisticated Norvo band, always admired by its peers, deserved much greater commercial success than it achieved.
@robertgreen3702
Eexcellent !!!!👍👍
@jlassie
Jerry Jerome on tenor sax at 0:38, with a nice mellow sound that reflects the Lester Young influence. In contrast to his replacement soon after this session, George Berg, who takes the opposite approach by emulating the rough, husky tone of Coleman Hawkins and Herschel Evans.
@murphthesurf3409
Such a great tune. First heard it Bill Cofman perform it on the Mighty Wurlitzer at Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo CA 1980.
@murphman7448
Me too! I still have the cassette tape with this , Under a Texas Moon and others he and Bill Fields performed . Priceless.
@RoryVanucchi
Like the tune.. Mildred swings anything
@MrSeb81
So This Is Where That Music Caliope Song Came From
@rorydillon7572
Sounds an awful lot like “That Foolish Feeling”. Interesting.