Ivie Anderson Biography

Ivie Anderson (sometimes Ivy) (July 10, 1905 – December 28, 1949) was an American jazz singer. She is best known for her performances with Duke Ellington's orchestra between 1931 and 1942.

Life

Anderson, was born in Louisiana. With a sweet, clear singing voice, she was a popular attraction with Ellington's band. Her performance of "Stormy Weather" in the movie short Bundle of Blues (1933) was only eclipsed by the later and far better-known version sung by Lena Horne in Horne's later movie with the title (1943). Ellington's indifference towards vocalists changed with the hiring of Anderson, who was generally considered the best regular vocalist he ever employed. She also appeared as a singer in the Marx Brothers movie A Day at the Races (1937) and the same year in Hit Parade of 1937 (as Ivy Anderson).

She developed chronic asthma, which forced her to retire from touring in August 1942. She ran a chicken restaurant (Ivie's Chicken Shack) in Los Angeles and continued singing in nightclubs on the West Coast, but deteriorating health limited her engagements and led to her early death.

Ivie Anderson died at age 44 in Los Angeles, California. She is interred in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery.

Appreciation

Distinguished Jazz critic Nat Hentoff described Anderson as 'easily the sensitive and musical female vocalist Ellington ever had'. She 'sang with a simplicity ... so artless that she is ... remarkably neglected in ... writings about jazz.' She 'sang with a supple warmth and caressing beat that made her one of the unforgettable voices in Jazz.' He also calls her 'direct, completely unpretentious and ungimmicked'

Ivie (or Ivy), was popular as an entertainer with Ellington as well, often receiving prominent billing on advertisements for Ellington's appearances in theatres, auditoriums, arenas and ballrooms, wherever the Ellington band toured in the 1930s. When she played in Ellington's musical Jump for Joy, the California Eagle described her: "Ivie can sing a song so that the audience get every word, and at the same time make cracks at Sonny Greer, tease Duke and wink at the boys in the front row. Wednesday night she went into a dance routine that would have slayed you."

Discography

Ellington songs featuring Anderson include

1932

• "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (Brunswick 6265) February 2, 1932
• "Delta Bound" (Columbia 37298) December 21, 1932 (not issued until the 1940s)

1933

• "I've Got the World on a String" (UK Columbia CB-625) February 15, 1933 (recorded in New York but only issued overseas)
• "Happy as the Day Is Long" (Brunswick 6571) May 9, 1933
• "Raisin' the Rent" (Brunswick 6571) May 9, 1933
• "Get Yourself a New Broom (and Sweep Your Blues Away)" (Brunswick 6607) May 9, 1933
• "I'm Satisfied" (Brunswick 6638) August 15, 1933

1934

• "Ebony Rhapsody" (Victor 24622) April 12, 1934
• "Troubled Waters" (Victor 24651) May 9, 1934
• "My Old Flame" (Victor 24651) May 9, 1934

1935

• "Let's Have a Jubilee" (unissued on 78) January 9, 1935
• "Cotton" (Brunswick 7525) August 19, 1935
• "Truckin'" (Brunswick 7514) August 19, 1935

1936

• "Dinah Lou" (unissued on 78) January 20, 1936
• "Isn't Love the Strangest Thing?" (Brunswick 7625) February 27, 1936
• "Love Is Like a Cigarette" (Brunswick 7627) February 28, 1936
• "Kissin' My Baby Goodnight" (Brunswick 7627) February 28, 1936
• "Oh Babe! Maybe Someday" (Brunswick 7667) February 28, 1936
• "Shoe Shine Boy" (Brunswick 7710) July 17, 1936
• "It Was a Sad Night in Harlem" (Brunswick 7710) July 17, 1936

1937

• "I've Got To Be a Rug Cutter" (Master MA-101) March 5, 1937
• "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" (as The Gotham Stompers) (Variety VA-629) March 25, 1937
• "Did Anyone Ever Tell You?" (as The Gotham Stompers) (Variety VA-541) March 25, 1937
• "Where Are You?" (as The Gotham Stompers) (Variety VA-541) March 25, 1937

(The Gotham Stompers session included members of Ellington's band plus members of Chick Webb's.)

• "There's a Lull in My Life" (Master MA-117) April 9, 1937
• "It's Swell of You" (Master MA-117) April 9, 1937
• "The Old Plantation" (as Ivie Anderson And Her Boys From Dixie) (Variety VA-591) April 22, 1937
• "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" (as Ivie Anderson And Her Boys From Dixie) (Variety VA-591) June 8, 1937
• "Alabamy Home" (Master VA-137) June 8, 1937

1938

• "If You Were in My Place (What Would You Do?)" (Brunswick 8093) February 24, 1938
• "Scrounch" (Brunswick 8093) February 24, 1938
• "Carnival in Caroline" (Brunswick 8099) March 3, 1938
• "Swingtime in Honolulu" (Brunswick 8131) April 11, 1938
• "You Gave Me the Gate (and I'm Swingin')" (Brunswick 8169) June 7, 1938
• "Rose of the Rio Grande" (Brunswick 8186) June 7, 1938
• "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" (Brunswick 8168) June 7, 1938
• "Watermelon Man" (Brunswick 8200) June 20, 1938
• "La De Doody Do" (Brunswick 8174) June 20, 1938

1939

• "In a Mizz" (Brunswick 8405) June 12, 1939
• "I'm Checkin' Out, Goo'm Bye" (Columbia 35208) June 12, 1939
• "A Lonely Co-ed" (Columbia 35240) June 12, 1939
• "You Can Count On Me" (Brunswick 8411) June 12, 1939
• "Killing Myself" (Columbia 35640) October 16, 1939
• "Your Love Has Faded" (Columbia 35640) October 16, 1939

1940

• "Solitude" (Columbia 35427) February 14, 1940
• "Stormy Weather" (Columbia 35556) February 14, 1940
• "Mood Indigo" (Columbia 35427) February 14, 1940
• "So Far, So Good" (Victor 26537) March 6, 1940
• "Me and You" (Victor 26598) March 15, 1940
• "At a Dixie Roadside Diner" (Victor 26719) July 22, 1940
• "Five O'Clock Whistle" (Victor 26748) September 15, 1940

1941

• "Chocolate Shake" (Victor 27531) June 26, 1941
• "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" (Victor 27531) June 26, 1941
• "Jump for Joy" (Victor LPV 517) July 2, 1941
• "Rocks in My Bed" (Victor 27639) September 26, 1941

1942

• "I Don't Mind" (Victor 20-1598) February 26, 1942
• "Hayfoot, Strawfoot" (Victor 20-1505) July 28, 1942