Anita O'Day
PLEASE BROWSE WHILE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
“THIS GAL IS IN A CLASS OF BY HERSELF”
CASHBOX 1961
Anita O'Day
THE LIFE OF A JAZZ SINGER
DOCUMENTARY
2010 Jazz Journalist Association Jazz Award
‘Best Documentary’
2008 Satellite Award Winnwe
2010 Grammy Nominated
Anita O’Day was one of the greatest of American jazz singers and this is her astonishing story—
a journey of survival, and above all the endurance of her talent, told in a number of frank interviews with her and with those who knew her. Her career was long and eventful, spanning seven decades, her last album recorded when she was 84. This documentary of a legend was Directed by Robbie Cavolina and Ian McCrudden who produced with Melissa Davis.
Anita O’Day only ever wanted to be a singer and the film showcases performances that date back to the 50s with such artists as Gene Krupa, Roy Eldridge, Stan Kenton, Louis Armstrong and Hoagy Carmichael. She is shown teaching Billy Taylor how to be a jazz vocalist. She speaks candidly, always candidly, with Dick Cavett, Bryant Gumble and David Frost, with clips from interviews done on 60 Minutes and CBS This Morning. Bert Stern, commenting on his experience filming Anita perform Sweet Georgia Brown for his film Jazz on a Summer’s Day, said it was the greatest rendition of the song ever made. Anita was a musical genius and pioneer who broke reverse race barriers. She was commonly regarded as one of the top female artists of her time, together with Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday.
The film portrays her as a woman who lived her life the way she wanted without ever looking back. She speaks openly about how she had to overcome great adversities, including a 20-year addiction to heroin and alcohol. She chose never to have children and married for only a brief period. She lived an often lonely life that was sustained only by her passion for music.
Personalities talk about her quirky personality, while jazz critics and her few still living contemporaries speak of her extraordinary talent and how amazing it is that she continued to sing for so long. The film shows Anita on tour in Europe well into her eighties and her making that final recording,
shortly before her death, the death of an icon.
#1#1
– Time Magazine ‘Short List’
“Invaluable”
– Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“Fast-paced, enthralling”
– Stephen Holden, New York Times
“O’Day is the epitome of cool. A heartfelt documentary”
– Hilton Als, The New Yorker
“An exuberant documentary”
– Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times
“Fascinating”
– Matt Schudel, Washington Post
“A masterpiece of the medium – GO”
– LA Weekly
“The best documentary about a jazz artist since
“Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser”
But you don’t have to be a jazz fan to dig “Anita O’Day”
– Calvin Wilson, STL Today
“One of the greatest jazz films ever made”
– Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News
“Superb documentary, successful on every level”
– Michael Wilmington, Movie City News
DELUXE Edition (a few still available)
Hardbound Edition
9 x 9 black burnished fabric cover with the title gold-foil printing on front cover and spine.2 Discs, one attached to inside front cover and one attached to the inside back cover. Both in sealed re-usable clear pouch.Disc 1 : The Movie with Director s audio commentary and French, Spanish and Japanese. We might add Italian subtitles. 16:9 formatting for widescreen and 4:3 televisions.Disc 2: Bonus Disc with 45 minutes of the uninterrupted musical performances from the film and 45 Minutes of outtake interviews of Anita. Both Discs are NTSC region free for world-wide sales.
HIGH TIMES, HARD TIMEs AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NOTABLE BOOK
“…in the tradition of the best jazz autobiographies…a fascinating travelogue through the jazz world, filled with vivid images of Gene Krupa, Roy Eldridge and Billie Holiday…her prose is as hip as her music.” – New York Times Book Review
“The record of [the] early years is like the story of the music itself: rich, exciting, innovative; featuring the primitive beauty of the twenties when one foot was still in showbiz; the thirties with hip sophistication and hard swinging for hard times; the explosive forties of pre-war big-band bashes and post-war bop; and then the fifties, going off in a hundred directions with a needle in the arm…. it is the best jazz autobiography I’ve ever read”.
– Jim Christy, Toronto Globe and Mail
Amazon Reviews 4.5 stars, these are some examples: “One of the greatest Jazz vocalist knows how to tell a story,” “Best jazz bio ever written,” “Sizzling.” and plenty more….
THE RECORDINGS
ANITA
YOU’RE THE TOP
HONEYSUCKLE ROSE
A NIGHTINGALE SANG IN
BERKELEY SQUARE
WHO CARES
I CAN’T GET STARTED
FINE AND DANDY
AS LONG AS I LIVE
NO MOON AT ALL
TIME AFTER TIME
I FALL IN LOVE TO EASILY
I’LLSEE YOU IN MY DREAMS
BEAUTIFUL LOVE
Pick YOurself up with Anita O'Day
DON’T BE THAT WAY
LET’S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE
I NEVER HAD A CHANCE
STOMPIN’ AT THE SAVOY
PICK YOURSELF UP
STARS FELL ON ALABAMA
SWEET GEORGIA BROWN
I WON’T DANCE
MAN WITH THE HORN
I USED TO BE COLOR BLIND
THERE’S A LULL IN MY LIFE
LET’S BEGIN
Anita O'Day sings the winners
TAKE THE A TRAIN
TENDERLY
A NIGHT IN TUNISIA
FOUR
EARLY AUTUMN
FOUR BROTHERS
SING SING SING
MY FUNNY VALENTINE
FRENESI
BODY AND SOUL
WHAT’S YOUR STORY MORNING GLORY
THERE’S A LULL IN MY LIFE
PEANUT VENDER
(Note: This is the original cover art)
ANITA O’DAY SINGS THE most with Oscar Peterson Quartet
S’WONDERFUL/THEY CAN’T TAKE
THAT AWAY FROM ME
TENDERLY
OLD DEVIL MOON
LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME
WE’LL BE TOGETHER AGAIN
STELLA BY STARLIGHT
TAKING A CHANCE ON LOVE
THEM THERE EYES
I’VE GOT THE WORLD ON A STRING
YOU TURNED THE TABLES ON ME
BEWITCHED, BOTHERED
AND BEWILDERED
ANITA O’DAY SWINGS Cole Porter WITH BILLY MAY
JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS
LOVE FOR SALE
YOU’D BE SO NICE TO COME HOME TO
EASY TO LOVE
I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU
ALL OF YOU
GET OUT OF TOWN
I’VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN
NIGHT AND DAY
IT’S DELOVELY
I LOVE YOU
WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE
ANITA O’DAY SWINGS RODGERS AND HART WITH BILLY MAY
JOHNNY ONE NOTE
LITTLE GIRL BLUE
FALLING IN LOVE WITH LOVE
BEWITCHED, BOTHERED
AND BEWILDERED
I COULD WRITE A BOOK
HAVE YOU MET SIR JONES
LOVER
IT NEVER ENTERED MY MIND
TEN CENTS A DANCE
I’VE GOT FIVE DOLLARS
TO KEEP MY LOVE ALIVE
SPRING IS HERE
ALL THE SAD YOUNG MEN WITH THE GARY MCFARLAND ORCHESTRA
BOOGIE BLUES
YOU CAME A LONG WAY FROM ST. LOUIS
I WANT TO SING A SONG
A WOMEN ALONE WITH THE BLUES
THE BALLAD OF ALL THE SAD YOUNG MEN
DO NOTHIN’ TIL YOU HEAR FROM ME
ONE MORE MILE
UP STATE
SENOR BLUES
ALL THE SAD YOUNG MEN
COOL HEAT Anita O’day SINGS JIMMY GIUFFRE ARRANGEMENTS
MACK THE KNIFE
EASY COME, EASY GO
ORPHAN ANNIE
YOU’RE A CLOWN
GONE WITH THE WIND
HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD
IT HAD TO BE YOU
COME RAIN OR COME SHINE
HERSHEY BAR
A LOVER IS BLUE
MY HEART BELONGS TO DADDY
THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
Anita O’day AT MR. KELLY’S
BUT NOT FOR ME
I HAVE A REASON FOR LIVING
MY LOVE FOR YOU
VARSITY DRAG
IT NEVER ENTERED MY MIND
TEA FOR TWO
EVERY TIME I’M WITH YOU
HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES
THE WILDEST GAL IN TOWN
STAR EYES
LONELINESS IS A WELL
THE SONG IS YOU
Anita O’day TRAV’LIN’ LIGHT
Don’t Explain
I Hear Music
Crazy He Calls Me
Lover Come Back to Me
If The Moon Turns Green
The Moon Looks Down and Laughs
Remember
Some Other Spring
What A Little Moonlight Can Do
Miss Brown to You
God Bless the Child
Anita O’day waiter, make mine blues
THAT OLD FEELING
ANGEL EYES
THE THRILL IS GONE
DETOUR AHEAD
YESTERDAYS
WAITER, MAKE MINE BLUES
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO YOU
WHEN SUNNY GETS BLUE
STELLA BY STARLIGHT
MAD ABOUT THE BOY
A BLUES SERENADE
Anita O’day time for 2 with Cal Tjader
THANKS FOR THE MEMORY
IT SHOULDN’T HAPPEN TO A DREAM
JUST IN TIME
UNDER A BLANKET OF BLUE
THAT’S YOUR RED WAGON
PEEL ME A GRAPE
AN OCCASIONAL MAN
THE PARTY’S OVER
I BELIEVE IN YOU
MR. SANDMAN
SPRING WILL BE A LITTLE LATE THIS YEAR
I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE BLUE BLUES
Anita O’day Gene Krupa Roy Eldridge drummer man
