Song:Kiss Of Fire
Album:The Complete Original Hits Of Georgia Gibbs
Georgia Gibbs had several hits in the pre-rock & roll 50s including the 1952 number one hit Kiss Of Fire. She was a very energetic performer and appeared on TV a lot. She's also notorious for having hits with a couple of R & B classics. She retired in the 60s. She was born Frieda Lipschitz Aug. 17, 1919 in Worcester, MA. When her father died, she and her three siblings lived in an orphanage. Even then Frieda showed talent as she usually starred in the orphanage variety show. As a teen she performed in Boston vaudeville houses and at age 17 toured with the Hudson-Lange Orchestra as Frieda Gibson. In the 40s she appeared on radio shows like Your Hit Parade and sang with several bands. She sang lead on the 1942 Artie Shaw hit Absent Minded Moon. She changed her name to Georgia Gibbs in 1943 and was a regular on the Camel Caravan radio show hosted by Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore. And it was Moore who dubbed her Her Nibs Miss Georgia Gibbs because she was a little girl with a big voice. Nibs is a now archaic term for an authority figure. Her first hit single in 1950 was If I Knew You Were Coming (I'd've Baked A Cake) on Coral Records. She was usually a featured vocalist on TV variety shows or touring with Danny Kaye or Sid Caesar. At the time, some thought she needed a gimmick. But Georgia thought her talent was enough to make her a star. The problem was Georgia was so versatile it likely prevented her from being a big star. She signed with Mercury Records and finally broke through with the #1 hit Kiss of Fire. Kiss Of Fire was based on Argentinian musician Angel Villoldo's tango El Choclo. It was adapted into English by character actor Lester Allen and Robert Hill. Georgia had the biggest hit with the song but Tony Martin also had a top ten hit with Kiss Of Fire. Yiddish comedian Mickey Katz recorded the parody Kiss Of Meyer. Georgia continued to have chart success in the mid-50s including covers of LaVern Baker's Tweedle Dee and her second #1 hit with the Etta James classic Dance With Me Henry. And of course she was accused of stealing from black artists. Remember it wasn't her decision to record those songs. She left Mercury for RCA in 1957. And after one last top 30 hit with The Hula Hoop Song in 1958, she faded until she retired in 1966. Georgia re-recorded some of her 50s hits in the 60s for Epic. So you have to be careful you're getting the original recordings. This comp from the reissue label Eric Records has her original recordings. Georgia Gibbs was married to authour Frank Gervasi. They had one child and one grandchild. She died on Dec. 9, 2007 at age 87. Here's Georgia Gibbs performing a medley of Tweedle Dee, Dance With Me Henry and Kiss Of Fire. It doesn't give a date or the show though I would assume mid-50s.
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