Anita O’Day, 1919-2006: Thanks for the Boogie Ride
Gene Krupa Orchestra with Anita O’Day on vocals and Roy Eldridge on trumpet.
I’m not a singer because I have no vibrato…. If I want one I have to shake my head to get it. That’s why I sing so many notes — so you won’t hear that I haven’t got one. It’s how I got my style.
Anita O’Day, 87; renowned singer billed as the ‘Jezebel of Jazz’ (LA Times)
High Times, Hard Times by Anita O’Day, (aka The. Best. Book. Ever.)
Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer documentary website
Anita O’Day, Wikipedia
NPR Jazz Profile
November 30, 2006 at 6:02 pm
I read somewhere that Anita did not have a uvula, and that this accounted for her unique sound. (I believe that the uvula is the dangly stalactite at the back of your mouth).
December 1, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Apparently, she lost “the dangly stalactite” when a tonsillectomy went awry.