Anita O'Day

 Anita O'Day, born Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006)

O'Day was a jazz singer widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances that shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer". Refusing to pander to any female stereotype, O'Day presented herself as a "hip" jazz musician, wearing a band jacket and skirt as opposed to an evening gown. She changed her surname from Colton to O'Day, pig Latin for "dough", slang for money. While at a singing engagement in Chicago, she was spotted by bandleader Gene Krupa who gave her a job as a vocalist with his ensemble in 1941. This led to stints with Woody Herman and Stan Kenton. During the 1950s, she reached the pinnacle of her career as a solo artist. After signing with the Verve record label, she recorded her debut album "This Is Anita" (1955) and went onto release several more. She made an impressionable appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival and her performances of "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Tea For Two" were capture in the documentary film "Jazz on a Summer's Day" (1958). Her life took an ugly turn during the 1960s, as she coped with a heroin addiction which nearly took her life. She was able to overcome this habit and resume her singing career. In 1981, she published her autobiography "High Times, Hard Times" which recounted her struggle with heroin. In November 2006, Robbie Cavolina (her last manager) entered her into a West Hollywood convalescent hospital while she recovered from pneumonia. Two days before her death, she had demanded to be released from the hospital. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2006, at age 87, O'Day died in her sleep. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest.