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Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitz; August 17, 1918December 9, 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs achieved acclaim and notoriety in the mid-1950s copying songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later became a featured vocalist for many radio and television variety and comedy programs. Her key attribute was tremendous versatility and an uncommon stylistic range from melancholy ballad to uptempo swinging jazz and rock and roll.
Revealing a natural talent for singing at a young age, Frieda was given the lead in the orphanage's yearly variety show. When her mother, who had visited her every other month, found employment as a midwife, she came back for Frieda, but her job often forced her to leave her daughter for weeks at a time with only a Philco radio for company.
She found steady work on radio shows including Your Hit Parade, Melody Puzzles, and The Tim And Irene Show and freelanced in the late 1930s and early 1940s singing with the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Hal Kemp, Artie Shaw, and Frankie Trumbauer. While a Billboard article reports that her first time on disk was with Trumbauer's orchestra ( The Laziest Gal in Town on Brunswick Records), Billboard, 13 April 1957, p.42 liner notes from a 1998 Simitar compilation report her appearance on some of DeLange's recordings on Brunswick, and a recording exists with Hal Kemp from 1939. She first charted with Shaw's band in 1942 on Absent Minded Moon (Victor 27779), which received a lukewarm review at the time. Gibbs was the first singer to record The Laziest Gal in Town, a Cole Porter song which was made much more famous in the 1960s by Nina Simone.
In 1943, with her name changed to Georgia Gibbs, she began appearing on the Camel Caravan radio program, hosted by Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore, where she remained a regular performer until 1947. It was Moore who bestowed upon her the famous nickname "Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs," ironically using the title to describe the singer of diminutive stature who had an enormous "authoritative" prominence in American pop music.
Gibbs signed with Majestic Records in 1946 cutting multiple records including the first of three recordings of Ballin' The Jack (she re-recorded the song in 1950 and 1954). but her first solo hit single, "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" (on the Coral Records record label) did not come until 1950. The recording got airplay but the disc failed to sell anything. During this period she also was the featured vocalist on tours with comedians Danny Kaye and Sid Caesar. Success as a singer outside of radio and variety shows continued to elude her, as noted in a 1952 Time article:
Through 1949 and 1950 she appeared on TV shows Cavalcade of Stars and All Star Revue. In 1951 she signed with Mercury Records where she ultimately had success "sticking with plain Georgia Gibbs". Possessed of a versatile voice, she cut a long list of well-received records in every category from torch songs to rock-and-roll, jazz, swing, old fashioned and cha-chas. The most successful, 1952's "Kiss Of Fire", which she performed on The Milton Berle Show in that spring, reached No. 1 on the pop music chart. The disc sold in excess of one million copies giving Gibbs her first gold disc. "Kiss of Fire" borrows the tune of the Tango music El Choclo by Ángel Villoldo, and the lyrics, arrangement and delivery communicate passion on a Richard Wagner scale.
Like many singers, Gibbs preferred ballads as there was more opportunity to showcase her vocal abilities, although she became mostly associated with uptempo novelty songs. Some ballads she cut included "My Melancholy Baby", "I'll Be Seeing You", "Autumn Leaves", and "You Keep Coming Back Like a Song". Yet she could also belt out fast jazz numbers like "Red Hot Mama", "A-Razz-A-Ma-Tazz"; jive with tunes like "Ol Man Mose", "Shoo Shoo Baby"; or rock out with "I Want You to Be My Baby". Her Swingin' With Her Nibs album (1956) demonstrated her natural affinity for improvisation as well.
In 1957, Gibbs signed with RCA Victor going on to chart with over 40 songs before retirement from singing, and was briefly successful doing rock 'n' roll songs as well. Her Mercury record "Silent Lips" was a big hit in Sweden (September 1958-March 1959) peaking at number 5 in the best-selling charts, and there were even several Swedish cover versions of that song, "Ingenting" by among others Towa Carson, Lill-Babs and Britt Rylander. Also "The Hula Hoop Song" did well in Sweden (February–March 1959) peaking at number 12. She continued to appear on many television shows including The Ed Sullivan Show, and hosted one of her own, Georgia Gibbs and her Million Record Show. She cut her final album Call Me, in 1966 and rarely performed after that.
Some notoriety followed Gibbs for her of music popularized by black performers, such as Etta James's "The Wallflower" (recorded by Gibbs with bowdlerized lyrics under the title "Dance With Me Henry", released March 26, 1955) and her copycat cover (1992). 9780571129393, Faber & Faber. ISBN 9780571129393 of LaVern Baker's "Tweedle Dee" (which outsold Baker's version, prompting complaint from her). Decades later, Gibbs commented that she, like most artists of the day, had no say in their choice of material and arrangements. A widely told story has LaVern Baker taking out a life insurance policy on herself in advance of a flight to Australia and naming Georgia Gibbs as the beneficiary. "You need this more than I do," Baker is said to have written to Gibbs, "because if anything happens to me, you're out of business." Whitened pop covers of black R&B and blues songs were a mid-1950s fad and many singers and groups had hits with them, including Pat Boone, the McGuire Sisters, the Chordettes, and the Crew Cuts.
Accessed 27 December 2020. They had first met in Paris in the 1930s, but lost touch with one another for 12 years. The marriage lasted until his death in 1990; they had one child who predeceased Georgia.
Georgia Gibbs died of leukemia on December 9, 2006, aged 88, at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Survivors included grandson Sacha Gervasi (from her husband's previous marriage), her brother Robert Gibson and nieces Patty Turk, Jody Gibson,Los Angeles Magazine Oct. 1999 p. 138 and Jody's sister Amy Gibson. Gibbs' last interview, conducted by Greg Adams, was subsequently published online.
| 1947 | "You Do" b/w "Feudin' and Fightin'" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| 1950 | "If I Knew You Were Comin' (I'd've Baked A Cake)" b/w "Stay With the Happy People" (Non-album track) | 5 | — | — | — | Her Nibs, Georgia Gibbs |
| "Simple Melody" b/w "A Little Bit Independent" Both tracks with Bob Crosby | 25 | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| "Cherry Stones" b/w "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" Both sides with Bob Crosby | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Red Hot Mama" b/w "Razz-A-Ma-Tazz" | — | — | — | — | Her Nibs, Georgia Gibbs | |
| 1951 | "I Still Feel The Same About You" b/w "Get Out Those Old Records" | 18 | — | — | — | |
| "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" b/w "Get Him Off My Hands" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| "Tom's Tune" b/w "I Wish, I Wish" | 21 | — | — | — | ||
| "Good Morning, Mr. Echo" b/w "Be Doggone Sure You Call" | 21 | — | — | — | ||
| "While You Danced, Danced, Danced" b/w "While We're Young" | 6 | — | — | — | ||
| "Cry" b/w "My Old Flame" | 24 | — | — | — | ||
| 1952 | "El Choclo" b/w "A Lasting Thing" | 1 | — | — | — | |
| "So Madly In Love" b/w "Make Me Love You" | 21 | 22 | — | — | ||
| "Sinner Or Saint" / | — | 28 | — | — | ||
| "My Favorite Song" | 22 | 12 | — | — | ||
| "A Moth and A Flame" b/w "The Photograph On The Piano" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1953 | "What Does It Mean To Be Lonely" b/w "Winter's Here Again" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Seven Lonely Days" b/w "If You Take My Heart Away" | 5 | 9 | — | — | Song Favorites Of Georgia Gibbs | |
| "For Me, For You" / | 21 | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| "Thunder and Lightning" | — | 20 | — | — | ||
| "Say It Isn't So" b/w "He's Funny That Way" | — | — | — | — | Music and Memories | |
| "The Bridge Of Sighs" / | 30 | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| "A Home Lovin' Man" | 30 | — | — | — | ||
| "Under Paris Skies" b/w "I Love Paris" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1954 | "Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell" b/w "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" | 18 | 15 | — | — | |
| "My Sin" b/w "I'll Always Be Happy With You" (Non-album tracks) | 21 | 27 | — | — | Song Favorites Of Georgia Gibbs | |
| "Wait For Me, Darling" b/w "Whistle and I'll Dance" | 24 | 32 | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| "The Man That Got Away" b/w "More Than Ever" (Non-album track) | — | — | — | — | Music and Memories | |
| "Mambo Baby" b/w "Love Me" (Non-album track) | — | 41 | — | — | Song Favorites Of Georgia Gibbs | |
| 1955 | "Tweedlee Dee" b/w "You're Wrong, All Wrong" (Non-album track) | 2 | 3 | — | 20 | |
| "Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower)" Original B-side: "Ballin' The Jack" Later B-side: "Every Road Must Have A Turning" | 1 | 3 | — | — | ||
| "Sweet and Gentle" / | 12 | 8 | — | — | ||
| "Blueberries" | — | 45 | — | — | ||
| "I Want You To Be My Baby" b/w "Come Rain Or Come Shine" (Non-album track) | 14 | 13 | — | — | ||
| "Arrivederci Roma)" / | 51 | 44 | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| "24 Hours a Day (365 A Year)" | 74 | 36 | — | — | ||
| 1956 | "Rock Right" b/w "The Greatest Thing" | 36 | 37 | — | — | |
| "Kiss Me Another" b/w "Fool Of The Year" | 30 | 27 | — | 24 | ||
| "Happiness Street" b/w "Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe" (from Swinging With Her Nibs | 20 | 30 | — | — | ||
| "Tra La La" b/w "Morning, Noon and Night" | 24 | 36 | — | — | ||
| 1957 | "Silent Lips" b/w "Pretty Pretty" | 68 | 50 | — | — | |
| "The Sheik Of Araby" b/w "I Am A Heart, A Heart, A Heart" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I'm Walking The Floor Over You" b/w "Sugar Candy" | 92 | — | — | — | ||
| "Fun Lovin' Baby" b/w "I Never Had The Blues" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Miss You" b/w "Great Balls Of Fire" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958 | "Way Way Down" b/w "You're Doin' It" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Hello Happiness, Goodbye Blues" b/w "It's My Pleasure" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "The Hula Hoop Song" b/w "Keep In Touch" | 32 | 37 | — | — | ||
| 1959 | "The Hucklebuck" b/w "Better Loved You'll Never Be" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Pretend" b/w "Hamburgers, Frankfurters and Potato Chips" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960 | "Seven Lonely Days" b/w "The Stroll That Stole My Heart" | — | — | — | — | |
| "So in Love" b/w "Loch Lomond" | — | — | — | — | Georgia Gibbs | |
| 1963 | "Candy Kisses" b/w "I Will Follow You" | — | — | — | — | Georgia Gibbs' Greatest Hits |
| "Tater Poon" b/w "Nine Girls Out Of Ten Girls" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1964 | "You Can Never Get Away From Me" b/w "I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way" | — | — | — | — | Call Me Georgia Gibbs |
| 1965 | "Let Me Cry On Your Shoulder" Original B-side: "You Can Never Get Away From Me" Later B-side: "Venice Blue (Que C'est Triste Venise)" | 132 | 87 | — | — | |
| "Call Me" b/w "Don't Cry Joe" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966 | "Let Me Dream" b/w "In Time" | — | — | 37 | — | |
| "El Choclo" b/w "Blue Grass" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967 | "Where's The Music Coming From" b/w "Time Will Tell" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
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