The cool class of Anita O’Day. ‘She was,’ said percussionist Gene Krupa, ‘a wild girl, but she could sing!’ Anita O’Day (1919-2006) came from the cool school of Stan Kenton.
She sang almost without vibrato and could not hold notes for long due to a failed tonsil operation as a child.
She was originally from Kansas City. She had a difficult childhood, ran away from home, tried her luck in the notorious dance marathons, hung around with musicians and ended up as a singer with Gene Krupa and later Stan Kenton.
Her career had its highs (we hear her with Billy May, Nat King Cole, the Oscar Peterson Trio, the bands of Stan Kenton and Gene Krupa, and in the legendary performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958) and lows: sometimes she lived in a hotel for the poor.
Despite a devastating life (drugs and alcohol), she remained active until a very old age.
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