Georgia Gibbs Dies at 87

[Brownian Motion]

Don't remember ever hearing her sing, but she does have a peripheral association with jazz.

The New York Times

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December 12, 2006

Georgia Gibbs, 87, Singer of the ’50s Hit ‘Kiss of Fire,’ Dies

By MARGALIT FOX

Georgia Gibbs, a brassy-voiced pop singer who topped the charts in the 1950s with “Kiss of Fire” and other hits, died on Saturday in Manhattan, where she had lived for many years. She was 87.

The cause was pneumonia, said Leslie Gottlieb, a publicist and family friend. She said Ms. Gibbs had been undergoing treatment for leukemia in recent months at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where she died.

During her years in show business, Ms. Gibbs was widely known by her full, magisterial title: Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs. “Nibs” in this sense denotes a person of importance; its etymology is uncertain.

Like many white singers of the period, Ms. Gibbs, who recorded her biggest hits for the Mercury label, was known in particular for her covers, often with bowdlerized lyrics, of R&B songs by black artists. She was also known for her versatility; her repertory included tangos like “Kiss of Fire” as well as torch songs, jazz, rock and novelty numbers.

Ms. Gibbs recorded three singles that sold more than a million copies each: “Kiss of Fire,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1952; “Tweedle Dee” which was No. 2 in 1955 (the song was originally introduced by LaVern Baker); and “Dance With Me Henry” (previously recorded by Etta James as “Wallflower”), which was No. 1 in 1955.

A frequent guest on television and radio, Ms. Gibbs appeared with Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore, among other notables. It was Mr. Moore who came up with the title Her Nibs.

Ms. Gibbs was born Frieda Lipschitz on Aug. 17, 1919, in Worcester, Mass. Her father died when she was very young, and she spent much of her childhood in an orphanage. There, Frieda discovered a talent for singing; by the time she was a teenager, she had left the orphanage and was supporting her family by working in Boston ballrooms. She made her early recordings, with Artie Shaw and other bandleaders, under the name Fredda Gibson.

In the late 1950’s, Ms. Gibbs married Frank Gervasi, a journalist; he died in 1990. She is survived by a brother, Robert Gibson, of La Mesa, Calif.; and one step-grandchild.

In part because she chose to record less frequently after her marriage, Ms. Gibbs never attained the lasting fame of contemporaries like Rosemary Clooney and Patti Page. But in her heyday, she was so well known that the post office routinely delivered to her door overseas letters addressed simply, “Her Nibs.”

[ValerieB]

i grew up with ms. gibbs's music, loved her and knew all the words to all her songs! thank you and RIP.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

that is sad- chewy knows the family and wants to extend condolences