Biography
Anita Belle Colton, 18 October 1919, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 23 November 2006, West Hollywood, California, USA. As Anita Colton, in her early teens she scraped a living as a professional Walkathon contestant (marathon dancer). During this period she changed her surname to O’Day. Along with other contestants she was encouraged to sing and during one Walkathon was accompanied by Erskine Tate’s orchestra, an event that made her think that singing might be a better route to showbusiness fame than dancing. By her late teens she had switched to singing and was told by Gene Krupa, who heard her at a Chicago club, that if he ever had a slot for her he would call. In the meantime, she failed an audition with Benny Goodman, who complained that she did not stick to the melody, and upset Raymond Scott, who disliked her scatting - actually, she had momentarily forgotten the words of the song. Eventually Krupa called and O’Day joined the band early in 1941,...
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