As one of the top jazz singers that came out of the 40s swing era, Anita O’Day had a turbulent career which comes over in this detailed biography by James Gavin. It’s full of interviews and references and successfully conjures up a picture of a deeply troubled but talented and influential musician.
Her singing career is well-documented. It took off with Gene Krupa’s band (including the 1941 hit Let Me Off Uptown, which brought her to the attention of a wider public and awards in Downbeat and Esquire) and progressed to Stan Kenton (And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine, 1944) before she became a successful solo act, embracing bebop and its lifestyle. But it was the associated issues of drugs and relationships that took her into notoriety, especially after the publication of her autobiography of 1981, High Times, Hard Times, co-authored by George Eells. This was something which O’Day regretted and was critical of. Gavin covers much of this material, putting it in the context of the singer’s early life, her upbringing, the lack of affection and money, an absentee father and the difficulties of the Depression years in the USA.
It’s these elements and her early adoption of a hard-boiled approach that Gavin sees as the source of later developments in her character and behaviour, the apparent streetwise attitude hiding the insecurity and vulnerability that she had from the outset. The tough exterior was to stay with her all her life.
From an early point in her career she was seen as difficult to deal with, mouthy, wild and with attitude. She over-compensated by heavy drinking, smoking weed, being “one of the boys” in the male-dominated life of big bands and endless touring, which took its toll. Her marriage to Carl Hoff was unsuccessful, especially after his wartime call-up and the extra-marital affairs of both, although remarkably it endured for some time.
Drugs were a huge issue, either directly or indirectly (Krupa’s bust split the band up), as she gravitated towards heroin. Her relationship with drummer, long-term friend, confidant, business adviser and drug supplier John Poole is covered a good deal. He has been seen as responsible for her descent into hard-drug use and although it was purported that Harry “The Hipster” Gibson initiated it, Poole later admitted to it – if he hadn’t done it, someone else, who might not be so careful, would. Gavin intimates that this was only part of the story. Clearly O’Day was quite forceful and headstrong enough to decide such things for herself, although her choices were far from ideal; one of them involved pianist Al Haig, landing her in jail.
There’s a litany of those she clashed with over music, business and socially, including Billy May, Goodman, Kenton, Oscar Peterson, Norman Granz, Bill Holman, Woody Allen, Sinatra and Roy Eldridge. Paradoxically, the musical results were often successful and tributes forthcoming. The ups and downs of her career are covered, including of course, her appearance in Jazz On A Summer’s Day, the film of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival which is still seen as her greatest moment.
What this book does do is fill in the times and events following the Eells book, from the 80s to her death in 2006. She still insisted upon Poole being her preferred drummer, and he fulfilled a mutually beneficial position. Gavin balances the questionable aspects of his involvement with the evident attempts at keeping the singer’s profile elevated, as seen in her Carnegie Hall concert of 1985, described as an artistic triumph, but for Poole, a financial disaster. He had also been supportive and forthcoming earlier, after he had temporarily quit and moved to Hawaii and she, during a particularly low ebb and near-death experience, needed help. She recovered and her career was kick-started again, to wide acclaim. It included an appearance at Ronnie Scott’s in 1986 of which Ronald Atkins wrote “There are still few singers to touch her” (The Guardian), with which this writer as a member of the audience would concur. She might not have hit some of the notes, but her phrasing and timing couldn’t be faulted.
Like many divas and torch singers, she became a gay icon and Gavin catalogues the various business and other arrangements that resulted during these years, as well as the interest generated among a younger generation, especially in Japan and in France. It also shows a realistic honesty about the limitations of her later performances and what he describes as “cognitive decline.” A fascinating and absorbing read.
Cool Heat – Anita O’Day And Her Dangerous Life Style, by James Gavin. Equinox Publishing, Sheffield. 224pp. ISBN 9781800503090 (hardback) 9781800503106 (eBook) 9781800508408 (ePub)
