Anita O'Day (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006) was an American jazz singer. Image File history File links Anita_ODay. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ...

Born Anita Belle Colton, O'Day was admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer". Refusing to pander to any female stereotype, O'Day presented herself as a "hip" jazz musician, wearing a band jacket and skirt as opposed to an evening gown. She changed her surname from Colton to O'Day, pig Latin for "dough," slang for money. For the popular Tamil film, see Rhythm (film) Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ... A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from 1935 until the late 1940s. ...

O'Day, along with Mel Tormé, is often grouped with the West Coast Cool school of jazz. Interestingly, like Tormé, O'Day had some training in jazz drums (courtesy of her first husband Don Carter); her longest musical collaboration was with John Poole, a skilled jazz drummer whose career was severely curtailed by his heroin habit. While maintaining a central core of hard swing, O'Day's considerable skills in improvisation of rhythm and melody put her squarely among the pioneers of bebop; indeed, a staple of her live act in the 1950s was a smooth cover of "Four" by Miles Davis. She cited Martha Raye as the primary influence on her vocal style, although she also expressed admiration for Mildred Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday. O'Day's soft, slightly raspy alto voice bore a strong resemblance to that of a saxophone. That unique sound, combined with her strong percussive drive, allowed her to utilize her skills in scat singing to meld seamlessly into jazz orchestras as a wordless instrument; her cover of Woody Herman's "Four Brothers" is an excellent example. Another key example of her improvisational skills and rhythmic surety is her cover of "Them There Eyes" with Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson; the song is laid out at a furiously fast tempo, but O'Day pushes the lyrics out at full speed for one chorus, scats another at a Cannonball Adderley pace, then playfully paraphrases the lyrics at half-tempo for her last chorus. O'Day's song interpretations typically reflected a sly, playful sensibility (see, for example, her cover of "An Occasional Man" with Cal Tjader's band, a much more sex-kittenish interpretation than that of Peggy Lee, among others). Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed The Velvet Fog, is best known as one of the great male jazz singers. ... Don Carter was born into a poor family in Arkansas in 1933. ... Heroin ((INN) Diacetylmorphine, (BAN) diamorphine) is an opioid synthesized directly from the extracts of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. ... Look up swing, swinging in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Improvisation is the practice of acting and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of ones immediate environment. ... Bebop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was one of the most distinguished jazz musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mildred Bailey (February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a popular American singer during the 1930s. ... Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as Lady Ella and the First Lady of Song, is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th Century. ... Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), born Eleanora Fagan and later called Lady Day was an American singer widely considered one of the greatest jazz voices of all time. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Look up scat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987), better known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. ... Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, O.Ont. ... The first two measures of Mozarts Sonata XI, which indicates the tempo as Andante grazioso and the metronome marking as = 120. (Metronome markings were not used in Mozarts day. ... Julian Edwin Cannonball Adderley (September 15, 1928 – August 8, 1975), originally from Tampa, Florida, was a jazz alto saxophonist of the small combo era of the 1950s and 1960s. ... Cal Tjader (July 16, 1925–May 5, 1982) was an American Latin jazz musician. ... Peggy Lee (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002) was an American Jazz and Traditional Pop singer and songwriter and Oscar-nominated performer. ...

O'Day always maintained that the accidental excision of her uvula during a childhood tonsillectomy left her incapable of vibrato, as well as unable to maintain long phrases. That botched operation, she claimed, forced her to develop a more percussive style based on short notes and rhythmic drive. However, when she was in good voice she demonstrated surprising skill at stretching long notes with strong crescendos and a telescoping vibrato, e.g. her stunning live version of "Sweet Georgia Brown" at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, captured in Bert Stern's film Jazz on a Summer's Day: [1] . The uvula (IPA: ) is a small, mucosa-covered set of muscles, musculus uvulae, hanging down from the soft palate, near the back of the throat. ... Throat after tonsillectomy A tonsillectomy is a surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed. ... Vibrato is a musical effect where the pitch or frequency of a note or sound is quickly and repeatedly raised and lowered over a small distance for the duration of that note or sound. ... Look up phrase in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In musical notation, crescendo means that the notes are gradually getting louder. ... Sweet Georgia Brown is the theme of the Harlem Globetrotters. ... Bertram Stern (born 3 October 1929) is an American fashion and celebrity portrait photographer. ... Jazz on a Summers Day is a 1959 documentary film set at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. ...

O'Day's cool, backbeat-based singing style was strongly influential on many other female singers of the late swing and bebop eras, including June Christy, Chris Connor and even less jazz-oriented performers such as Doris Day. Backbeat can mean one of two things: Backbeat or Back beat is a style of rock music percussion Backbeat is a 1994 bio-pic of the early career of The Beatles, starring Stephen Dorff, Sheryl Lee, and Ian Hart Categories: Disambiguation ... June Christy (born November 25th, 1925 - June 21st, 1990) was an American Jazz Singer popular in the 1950s. ... Chris Connor is one of the really great jazz singers. ... Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff (born April 3, 1924) is an American singer, actress, and animal welfare advocate known as Doris Day. ...

O'Day's long-term problems with heroin and alcohol addiction and her often erratic behavior related to those problems earned her the nickname "The Jezebel of Jazz". Heroin ((INN) Diacetylmorphine, (BAN) diamorphine) is an opioid synthesized directly from the extracts of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. ...

Early career

Born in Chicago, Illinois, O'Day left home at age 12 and began her career two years later in 1934, touring the Midwestern United States as a marathon dance contestant and singing "The Lady in Red" for tips. In 1936, she left the endurance contests, determined to become a professional singer. She started out as a chorus girl in such Uptown venues as the Celebrity Club and the Vanity Fair, then found work as a singer and waitress at the Ball of Fire, the Vialago, and the Planet Mars. At the Vialago, O'Day met the drummer Don Carter, who introduced her to music theory and whom she married in 1937. Her first big break came in 1938 when Down Beat editor Carl Cons hired her to work at his new club at 222 North State Street, the Off-Beat, which quickly became a popular hangout for musicians. While performing at the Off Beat, she met Gene Krupa, who promised to call her when Irene Daye, his current vocalist left his band. Nickname: Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Lady in Red is a song by Chris De Burgh. ... Skyline of Uptown, looking northeast Uptown is a diverse neighborhood located north of Chicagos downtown. ... Don Carter was born into a poor family in Arkansas in 1933. ... Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to jazz. ... State Street is the name given to one of the major thoroughfares in Chicago, Illinois. ... Gene Krupa Gene Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was a famous and influential American jazz and big band drummer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style. ...

In September 1939, O'Day auditioned for Benny Goodman, who was appearing on a Camel Caravan radio broadcast from the Chicago Theater. Goodman needed someone to replace Louise Tobin, but rejected O’Day for improvising on the melody. Goodman eventually signed Helen Forrest. She auditioned successfully for bandleader Raymond Scott, but Scott fired her after only three days when she forgot the lyrics of a new song and scatted her way through the tune instead. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Camel Caravan was a radio program that aired 1933 to 1954. ... The Chicago Theatre The Chicago Theatre is a famous theater landmark in the city of Chicago, Illinois. ... Helen Forrests hit single I Had the Craziest Dream. ... Raymond Scott, 1937 Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow, September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994), was an American composer, orchestra leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor. ... Scat singing is vocalizing either wordlessly or with nonsense words and syllables (e. ...

Work with Krupa, Herman, and Kenton

The call from Krupa finally came in early 1941. Of the 34 sides she recorded with Krupa, it was "Let Me Off Uptown", a novelty duet with Roy Eldridge, that became her first big hit. That year, Down Beat named O'Day "New Star of the Year". In 1942, she appeared with the Krupa band in two "soundies" (short musical films), singing "Thanks for the Boogie Ride" and "Let Me Off Uptown". The same year Down Beat readers voted her into the top five big band singers. O'Day came in fourth, with Helen O'Connell first, Helen Forrest second, Billie Holiday third, and Dinah Shore fifth. O'Day married again in 1942, this time to golf pro and jazz fan Carl Hoff. Roy David Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 6, 1989) was a jazz trumpet player in the Swing era. ... Helen OConnell (May 23, 1920 – September 9, 1993) was a singer, actress, and dancer. ... Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), born Eleanora Fagan and later called Lady Day was an American singer widely considered one of the greatest jazz voices of all time. ... Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore February 29, 1916 - February 24, 1994) was an American singer and actress. ...

When Krupa's band broke up after his possession of marijuana arrest in 1943, O'Day joined Woody Herman for a month-long gig at the Hollywood Palladium, followed by two weeks at the Orpheum. Unwilling to tour with another big band, she left Herman after the Orpheum engagement and finished out the year as a solo artist. Despite her initial misgivings about the compatibility of their musical styles, she let herself be persuaded to join Stan Kenton's band in April of 1944. During her eleven months with Kenton, O'Day recorded 21 sides, both transcription and commercial, and appeared in a Universal Pictures short Artistry in Rhythm (1944). "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" became a huge seller and put Kenton's band on the map. She also appeared in one soundie with Kenton, performing "I'm Going Mad for a Pad" and "Tabby the Cat". O'Day later said, "My time with Stanley helped nurture and cultivate my innate sense of chord structure." In 1945 she rejoined Krupa's band and stayed almost a year. The reunion, unfortunately, yielded only ten sides. On two of these ("That Feeling in the Moonlight" and "Harriet") O'Day shared the mike with Buddy Stewart, an excellent bop-tinged singer whose promising career was cut short by an early death when he got out of his car to help a motorist in distress in 1950, and unfortunately was promptly run over. After leaving Krupa late in 1946, O'Day once again became a solo artist. Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987), better known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. ... Media:Example. ... Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. ... Universal Pictures is the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ...

Post-war work and drug problems

During the late forties, she recorded two dozen sides, mostly for small labels. The quality of these singles varies: O'Day was trying to achieve popular success without sacrificing her identity as a jazz singer. Among the more notable recordings from this period are "Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip", "Key Largo", "How High the Moon", and "Malaguena". O'Day's drug problems began to surface late in 1947, when she and husband Carl Hoff were arrested for possession of marijuana and sentenced to 90 days in jail. Her career was back on the upswing in September 1948, when she sang with Count Basie at the Royal Roost in New York City, resulting in five airchecks. What secured O'Day's place in the jazz pantheon, however, are the seventeen albums she recorded for Norman Granz's Norgran and Verve labels between 1952 and 1962. How High the Moon is a song, now a jazz standard, by Nancy Hamilton (lyrics), Morgan Lewis (music). ... A Cannabis sativa plant The drug cannabis, also called marijuana, is produced from parts of the cannabis plant, primarily the cured flowers and gathered trichomes of the female plant. ... William Count Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. ... Nickname: Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1625 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area  - City  468. ... Norman Granz (Los Angeles, USA, August 6, 1918 - Geneva, Switzerland, November 22, 2001), was an American jazz music impresario and producer. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ...

Her first album, Anita O'Day Sings Jazz (reissued as The Lady Is a Tramp), was recorded in 1952 for the newly established Norgran Records (it was also the label's first LP). The album was a critical success and further boosted her popularity. In October 1952 O'Day was again arrested for possession of marijuana, but found not guilty. The following March, she was arrested for possession of heroin. The case dragged on for most of 1953; O'Day was finally sentenced to six months in jail. Not long after her release from jail on February 25, 1954, she began work on her second album, Songs by Anita O'Day (reissued as An Evening with Anita O'Day). She recorded steadily throughout the fifties, accompanied by small combos and big bands. In person, O'Day was generally backed by a trio which included the drummer with whom she would work for the next 40 years, John Poole. A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... Heroin ((INN) Diacetylmorphine, (BAN) diamorphine) is an opioid synthesized directly from the extracts of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. ...

As a live performer O'Day also began performing in festivals and concerts with such musicians as Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson, Dinah Washington, George Shearing, Cal Tjader, and Thelonious Monk. She appeared in the documentary Jazz on a Summer's Day, filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival which increased her popularity. The following year O'Day made a cameo appearance in The Gene Krupa Story, singing "Memories of You". Late in 1959 she toured Europe with Benny Goodman. O'Day wrote in her 1981 autobiography that when Goodman's attempts to upstage her failed to diminish the audience's enthusiasm, he cut all but two of her numbers from the show. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, O.Ont. ... Dinah Washington (August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was a blues, R&B and jazz singer. ... George Shearing George Shearing (born 13 August 1919 in London) is a well-known jazz pianist. ... Cal Tjader (July 16, 1925–May 5, 1982) was an American Latin jazz musician. ... Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... Jazz on a Summers Day is a 1959 documentary film set at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. ... The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every August in Newport, Rhode Island. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

After the Goodman fiasco, O'Day went back to touring as a solo artist. She recorded infrequently after the expiration of her Verve contract in 1962 and her career seemed over when she nearly died of a heroin overdose in 1968. After kicking the habit, she made a comeback at the 1970 Berlin Jazz Festival. She also appeared in the films Zig Zag (1970) and The Outfit (1974). She resumed making live and studio albums, many recorded in Japan, and several were released on her own label, Emily Records.

O'Day spoke candidly about her drug addiction in her 1981 memoir, High Times, Hard Times.

In 2005, her version of the standard, Sing, Sing, Sing was remixed by RSL and was included in the compilation album Verve Remixed 3, and 2006 saw her first album release in 13 years, entitled Indestructible!. Sing, Sing, Sing is a 1936 song written by Louis Prima that has become one of the definitive songs of the big band and Swing Era. ... Verve Remixed is a series of albums released by Verve Records centered around the concept of classic Verve tracks, remixed by contemporary electronic music producers and DJs. ... Indescructible! is a 2006 (see 2006 in music) studio album by the American jazz singer Anita ODay. ...

One of her best late-career audio performances "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" opens the 2006 film "Shortbus" by John Cameron Mitchell. Shortbus is a 2006 film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, writer/director/star of the play and film Hedwig and the Angry Inch. ... John Cameron Mitchell - JCM at Cannes John Cameron Mitchell - photo: Justin Hyte John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is an American writer, actor, and director. ...

A feature length documentary Anita O'Day: The Life of A Jazz Singer directed by Robbie Cavolina and Ian McCrudden, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 30, 2007. See preview, at [2] Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal 2005 The TriBeCa Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Manhattan. ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ...

Death

With her album Indestructible! released, and her new documentary already wrapped up for production, Anita O'Day was making a strong comeback. But in November 2006, Robbie Cavolina (manager) entered her into a West Hollywood, California convalescent hospital, while she recovered from pneumonia. Two days before her death, she had demanded to be released from the hospital. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2006, Anita O'Day died in her sleep. The official cause of death, was deemed cardiac arrest. Indescructible! is a 2006 (see 2006 in music) studio album by the American jazz singer Anita ODay. ... Nickname: WeHo Location of Los Angeles County in California and West Hollywood within Los Angeles County Country United States State California County Los Angeles Incorporated 1984  - City Council John Heilman (mayor) Sal Guarriello John J. Duran Abbe Land Jeffrey Prang Area    - City  1. ... Pneumonia is an illness of the lungs and respiratory system in which the alveoli (microscopic air-filled sacs of the lung responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere) become inflamed and flooded with fluid. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Discography

Verve Recordings

• The Lady Is a Tramp 1954
• This is Anita 1956 — original Verve Records Debut
• Pick Yourself Up with Anita O'Day 1956
• Anita Sings the Most 1957
• Anita Sings the Winners 1958
• Cool Heat 1959
• Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May 1959
• Anita O'Day and Billy May Swing Rodgers and Hart 1960
• Waiter, Make Mine Blues 1960
• Incomperable! 1960
• Trav'lin' Light 1961
• All The Sad Young Men 1961
• Time For Two 1962

This is Anita is a 1956 (see 1956 in music) album by Anita ODay. ... Pick Yourself Up with Anita ODay is a 1956 (see 1956 in music) album by Anita ODay. ... Anita Sings the Most is a 1957 (see 1957 in music) album by Anita ODay. ... Anita ODay Sings The Winners is a 1958 (see 1958 in music) album by Anita ODay. ...

Kayo Steriophonics

• My Ship 1975
• I Get A Kick Out Of You 1975
• Live at Mingos [Live Recording] 1976
• Skylark 1978
• Angel Eyes 1978
• Mello' Day 1978
• At Vine St. [Live Recording] 1991
• Rules of The Road 1993
• Indestructible! 2006 — final Album
• Live in Tokyo '63 [Live Recording] 2007

Indescructible! is a 2006 (see 2006 in music) studio album by the American jazz singer Anita ODay. ...

External links

• Anita O'Day's Website
• Profile at Verve
• Bio at Jazz Profiles
• Anita O'Day at the Internet Movie Database
• "Thanks for the Boogie Ride" performance (1941)
• "Sweet Georgia Brown" performance (1958 NJF)
• "Tea for Two" performance (1958 NJF)
• Paris performance (2004)