Georgia Gibbs
| Georgia Gibbs | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Frieda Lipschitz |
| Born | August 17, 1919 |
| Origin | Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Died | December 9, 2006 (aged 87) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Years active | 1936–1966 |
| Associated acts | Ellis Larkins |
Georgia Gibbs (August 17, 1919 – December 9, 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim (and notoriety) in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of 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.
Gibbs was born Frieda Lipschitz, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the youngest of four children of Russian Jewish descent. Her father died when she was six months old, and she and her three siblings spent the next seven years in a local Jewish orphanage.
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.
While still in Worcester at age 13, Frieda auditioned for a job at the Plymouth, one of the prime vaudeville houses in Boston. The Plymouth's manager had already heard her sing on the local Worcester radio station, and Gibbs was hired and moved to Boston, eventually landing at the Raymor Ballroom. She joined the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra in 1936 (age 17), and toured with them for 10 months as Fredda Gibson. "You don't really know loneliness unless you do a year or two with a one-night band.", Gibbs said of her life on the big-band circuit, "Sing until about 2 a.m. Get in a bus and drive 400 miles. Stop in the night for the greasy hamburger. Arrive in a town. Try to sleep. Get up and eat."
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