As a child Anthony, born Raymond Antonini in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where he studied the trumpet with his father. He played in Glenn Miller's band from 1940–1941 and appeared in the Glenn Miller movie Sun Valley Serenade in 1941 before joining the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war he formed his own group. The Ray Anthony Orchestra became very popular in the early 1950s, with recordings that included Anthony's classic dance songs "The Bunny Hop" and the "Hokey Pokey," as well as the theme music from Dragnet. He had a #2 chart hit with a remake of the Glenn Miller tune, "At Last" in 1952.
From 1953-1954 Anthony was the musical director on the television series TV's Top Tunes, and he also appeared as himself in the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs. In 1955 Anthony married his second wife, the sex symbol actress Mamie Van Doren. Their son Perry Ray was born March 18, 1956. He then began expanding his own acting career. He starred in a short-lived television 1956-1957 variety show, The Ray Anthony Show. Anthony also appeared in several films during the late 1950s, including The Five Pennies (where he portrayed Jimmy Dorsey), and Van Doren's movies High School Confidential as "Bix" and Girls Town. In the 1959-1960 television season, he guest starred in the episode "Operation Ramrod" of David Hedison's espionage series Five Fingers on NBC.
After van Doren filed for divorce in 1958, citing cruelty, they finally divorced in 1960, and Anthony's brief film career ended at about the same time. However, he continued his musical career and had another hit record with the theme from Peter Gunn, which reached #8 on Billboard's pop chart. Among his pianists was Allen "Puddler" Harris, a native of Franklin Parish, Louisiana, who had been a member of the original Ricky Nelson band and Kellie Green, who also played the vibraphone.
Anthony was considered one of the most modern of the big band leaders. In the lyrics to "Opus One", which imagine a number of players performing the song, he is cited along with Les Brown and his Band of Renown:
If Mr. Les Brown can make it renowned
And Ray Anthony could rock it for me
Anthony and his band were also featured in the movie, The Girl Can't Help It, and were treated as one of the rockers in the line-up, but also shown in performances with Mansfield that are essential to the plot.
Ray Anthony's compositions include "Thunderbird", "Bunny Hop", "Trumpet Boogie", "Big Band Boogie", and "Mr. Anthony's Boogie".
In the early 1980s, Anthony formed Big Band '80s, other members including Buddy Rich, Harry James, Les Brown, and Alvino Rey.
Anthony, who has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, continues to be active as a bandleader and musician.
Anthony is a close friend of Hugh Hefner and has appeared in numerous episodes of The Girls Next Door.
I Got It Bad
Ray Anthony Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me to save my tears
Well I'm so mad about him
I can't live without him
Never treats me sweet and gentle
The way he should
I've got it bad
My poor heart is so sentimental
Not made of wood
I've got it so bad
And that ain't good
But when the fish are jumpin'
And Friday rolls around
My man an' I, we gin some
We pray some, and sin some
He don't love me like I love him
The way he should
I've got it bad
And that ain't good
Yes I've got it bad
And that ain't good
The lyrics to "I Got It Bad" by Ray Anthony express a sentiment of deep longing and love for someone who may not reciprocate the same feelings. The song opens with a commentary on the advice that the singer is receiving from those with "good intentions" - presumably friends and loved ones who are encouraging her to move on and stop wasting her tears on someone who doesn't deserve them. However, the singer can't help how she feels, and she declares that she is "so mad about him" that she simply cannot live without him.
In the second verse, the singer describes how her lover never treats her as sweetly or gently as she feels he should. The repetition of the phrase "I've got it bad, and that ain't good" emphasizes the singer's frustration and sadness, as well as the depth of her feelings. She admits that her heart is "so sentimental" that it is not made of wood - in other words, she is deeply emotional and can't help the way she feels, even if it hurts her.
The final verse describes the singer and her lover spending time together, even though she knows he doesn't love her as much as she loves him. The repeated phrases "we gin some, we pray some, and sin some" suggest that the singer is caught up in a cycle of pleasure and guilt with her lover, reflecting the complicated nature of their relationship. The song closes with a reiteration of the main refrain, "I've got it bad," underscoring the inescapability of the singer's feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
Though folks with good intentions
Tell me to save my tears
Well I'm so mad about him
I can't live without him
People mean well and advise me to not cry, but I'm deeply in love with him and can't imagine life without him.
Never treats me sweet and gentle
The way he should
I've got it bad
And that ain't good
He doesn't treat me with the love and care I deserve, and I'm seriously affected by it, which isn't good.
My poor heart is so sentimental
Not made of wood
I've got it so bad
And that ain't good
My sentimental heart is easily affected, and I'm seriously in love, which isn't good for me.
But when the fish are jumpin'
And Friday rolls around
My man an' I, we gin some
We pray some, and sin some
Despite our problems, we enjoy each other's company and engage in spirits and faith during our time together.
He don't love me like I love him
The way he should
I've got it bad
And that ain't good
He doesn't love me with the same intensity, and I'm deeply affected by it, which isn't good for me.
Yes I've got it bad
And that ain't good
I'm deeply in love, which isn't good for me.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, GUY WEBSTER/WEBSTER MUSIC
Written by: DUKE ELLINGTON, PAUL WEBSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Wagner José Rachetti
Como é bom OUVIR canções que preenche os sentimentos mais puros principalmente executadas por TROMPETISTA como Ray Anthony. Parabéns quem está nos procionando o vídeo 👏👏👏🙏
Ignacio Galvão
Toca com a alma. Digo toca por ter se transformado numa estrela e que pulsa no céu da música internacional. Ele, Glenn Miller, Henri Mancini e tantos outros suaves intérpretes. E aí incluo a música popular brasileira, um celeiro de luz.
carlos ramirez marroquin
Gracias Ray Anthony por este homenaje a esta música tan hermosa.
La disfruto realmente.
Javier Prieto
Un verdadero deleite escuchar esta música tan hermosa. Gracias por compartir estas joyas. Saludos desde México.
Horacio Tenorio
Música hermosa y magníficamente interpretada; bellos recuerdos de nuestra juventud!!.
ALRS501
adoro essas músicas, toco sax, e cresci ouvindo isso, graças a meu avô que me deixou o instrumento, e viveu essa época boa, me incentivou na música, agradeço a ele 1911/1989.
Francisco Eduardo Rosa. Eduardo.
Alento para minha alma, faço estudo no momento, e só inspiração o ritmo me traz! Dou glória a Deus, pelo o que experimento! E responder com GRATIDAO! Amém!!! Amem!
Tunico Malaquias
Como é gratificante ouvir novamente esta maravilhosa orquestra que eu, na minha adolescência ouvia, isto nos anos 1960, Obrigado...!!!
Georges Vaterlaus
Brravo pour ces magnefigues arrangements et surtout l'interpretation de Ray Antony très class, merci pour ces bons moments
Urbano Bergami Neto
tenho alguns Lp e vários CDs dessa orquestra. Acho uma maravilha. É uma das minha preferida.