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LEGENDARY MUSICIAN
JAZZ SINGER ANITA O'DAY DIES
Anita O'Day (born Anita Belle
Colton on October 18, 1919 - died November 23, 2006), was an
American jazz singer. Anita, whose sassy renditions of "Honeysuckle
Rose," "Sweet Georgia Brown" and other song standards that made her
one of the most respected jazz vocalists of the 1940s and '50s. She
was 87
O'Day died in her sleep early Thursday morning at a convalescent
hospital in Los Angeles where she was recovering from a bout with
pneumonia, said her manager Robbie Cavolina.
"On Tuesday night, she said to me, get me out of here," Cavolina
said. "But it didn't happen."
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 cited Martha Raye as the primary influence on her vocal
style, although she also expressed admiration for Mildred Bailey,
Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday.
Once known as the "Jezebel of Jazz" for her reckless, drug-induced
lifestyle, O'Day lived to sing and she did so from her teen years
until this year when she released "Indestructible!"
"All I ever wanted to do is perform," she said in a June 1999
interview with The Associated Press. "When I'm singing, I'm happy.
I'm doing what I can do and this is my contribution to life."
Cavolina recently completed a feature film about O'Day and
accompanied her to shows and on tours.
"She got to see how many people really loved her at the shows we
did, in New York, in London," Cavolina said. "She had come back
after all of this time. She really lived a very full and exciting
life."
O'Day was born in Chicago, Ill. She left home at age 12 and often
bragged about being "self-made" and never having a singing lesson.
She began her career in her teens and later recorded hits with Stan
Kenton and Gene Krupa. Her highly stylized performance of songs like
"And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine," "Let Me Off Uptown," "Honeysuckle
Rose" and "Sweet Georgia Brown" made her famous the world over.
In her prime, O'Day was described as a scat singer and a natural
improviser whose unique interpretations energized the most familiar
songs. She inspired many singers, including June Christy and Chris
Connor.
Her fame came at a price.
She suffered from a 16-year heroin addiction and an even longer
alcohol problem. Wild, drug-related behavior and occasional stints
in jail on drug charges earned her the nickname "Jezebel of Jazz," a
term she hated.
"I tried everything," she once said. "Curiosity will make you go
your own way."
She overdosed many times and on one occasion in the late 1940s, it
was almost fatal.
The experience shocked her into giving up drugs, but she continued
to drink.
Her 1981 memoir "High Times Hard Times" tells of her long struggle
with drug addiction and her romance with drummer John Poole.
In late 1996, O'Day fell down the stairs of her Hemet, Calif., home
after a drinking binge. She was admitted to a hospital with a broken
arm but ended up with severe food poisoning and pneumonia.
She survived the ordeal but her recovery — both physical and
emotional — was painful. She left the hospital in a wheelchair and
didn't walk for nearly a year. Her right hand was paralyzed but
worst of all, she said, she had lost her singing voice.
Although she blamed the complications on poor hospital care, the
near-death experience convinced O'Day to give up alcohol.
It took nearly a year to get her voice back and start singing again.
But once she did, she was right back on stage.
She received a lifetime achievement award from the National
Endowment for the Arts in 1997.
For the last years of her life, O'Day performed at various Los
Angeles night spots.
O'Day had no children and no immediate family, Cavolina said. |
