Georgia Gibbs (August 17, 1919[1] -- 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. Personal life In the late 1950s she married respected foreign correspondent and author Frank Gervasi, biographer of Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, and whose books include To Whom Palestine?, The Case for Israel, The Real Rockefeller and The Violent Decade. They had first met in Paris in the 1930s, but lost touch with one another for twelve years. The marriage lasted until his death in 1990; they had one child who predeceased Georgia. Georgia Gibbs died of leukemia on December 9, 2006, aged 87, at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Survivors included grandson Sacha Gervasi (from her husband's previous marriage), her brother Robert Gibson and nieces Patty Turk,[12] Jody (Babydol) Gibson.[13] and Jody's sister Amy. Gibbs' last interview, conducted by Greg Adams, was subsequently published online.Gibbs was born Frieda Lipschitz,[1] in Worcester, Massachusetts, the youngest of four children of Russian Jewish descent.[2] 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.[3] Revealing a natural talent for singing at a young age, she was given the lead in the orphanage's yearly variety show. She reunited with her mother (who had visited her once every other month) when the latter found employment as a midwife. Her mother's job, however, often forced her to leave her daughter alone for weeks at a time with only a Philco radio for company

• published: 30 Jan 2014
• views: 1