Anita O'Day (born Anita Belle Colton; October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006) was an American jazz singer widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances that shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer". Refusing to pander to any female stereotype, O'Day presented
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herself as a "hip" jazz musician, wearing a band jacket and skirt as opposed to an evening gown.
Anita was born to Irish parents in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in Chicago, Illinois during the Great Depression. Colton took the first chance to leave her unhappy home when, at age 14, she became a contestant in the popular Walk-a-thons as a dancer. She toured with the Walk-a-thons circuits for two years, occasionally being called upon to sing. In 1934, she began touring the Midwest as a marathon dance contestant.
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 became a popular hangout for musicians. Also performing at the Off-Beat was the Max Miller Quartet, which backed O'Day for the first ten days of her stay there. While performing at the Off Beat, she met Gene Krupa, who promised to call her if Irene Daye, then his
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vocalist, ever left his band, and in 1939, O'Day was hired as vocalist for Miller's Quartet, which had a stay at the Three Deuces club in Chicago.
The call from Krupa 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 same 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 In 1942 she appeared with the Krupa band in two "soundies" (short musical films originally made for jukeboxes), singing "Thanks for the Boogie Ride" and "Let Me Off Uptown".
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The same year Down Beat magazine 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 golf pro and jazz fan Carl Hoff in 1942.
When Krupa's band broke up after he was arrested in 1943 for marijuana possession, 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 joined Stan Kenton's band in April 1944.
During her 11 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 (1944) became a huge seller and put Kenton's band on the map. She also appeared in one soundie with Kenton, performing "I'm Going
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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 yielded only 10 sides. After leaving Krupa late in 1946, O'Day once again became a solo artist.
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 yielded only 10 sides. After leaving Krupa late in 1946, O'Day once again became a solo artist. She recorded for Signature in 1947 and London in 1950 but didn't go into the studio on a regular basis until signing with Verve in 1952. O'Day struggled at first. It wasn't until the release of her 1955 LP, Anita, (the very first LP released by Verve) that she finally found success as a solo artist. Soon she was in demand at major jazz festivals, and she began to work with other top performers, such as Louis Armstrong, George Shearing, Oscar Peterson, Billy May, Cal Tjader, Count Basie, and Thelonious Monk.
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Her addiction to heroin, though, began to take its toll in the early 1960s and her career after 1963 became erratic. She physically collapsed in 1967 and spent the next three years trying to kick her drug and alcohol addictions.
After a comeback at the 1970 Berlin Jazz Festival, O'Day recorded several more albums, some on her own label, Emily Records. In 1981 she released her autobiography, High Times, Hard Times.
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She slowed down considerably during the '90s, and appeared only occasionally. She re-emerged in 2006 with a new album (Indestructible!), recorded during the previous two years, but passed away in November of that year due to the effects of pneumonia and advanced Alzheimer's disease.
(Edited from Wikipedia & Solid)