Georgia Gibbs

Artist: Georgia Gibbs

LP: Her Nibs... Miss Georgia Gibbs

Song: "So In Love"

[ listen ]

When I told a friend of mine that I'm a fan of singer Georgia Gibbs, he asked if I knew what "her nibs" means, since the phrase is often associated with Ms. Gibbs. I admitted I didn't know, but that I'd always figured it had something to do with her breasts. My friend did a little research and this is what he found: "'nibs' —noun, his / her nibs — informal: often facetious. a person in authority, esp. one who is demanding and tyrannical: His nibs wants fresh strawberries in December." So it would seem Georgia Gibbs earned the nickname "her nibs" by demanding fresh strawberries in December. Someone at the store where I found this record had written on the price tag: "look at the back cover...very carefully." I did look at it carefully, even turning the picture of the queen of hearts upside down to see if she turned into an old hag, but I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. If you find something, let me know. 

Born with the unfortunate name of Frieda Lipschitz in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1919, Georgia Gibbs changed her name and began singing at the Raymor Ballroom in Boston when she was just thirteen years old. She went on to have a string of hits in the early-to-mid 1950s, but found herself in hot water after achieving success with "white versions" of songs by black singers like Etta James and LaVern Baker. Gibbs' popularity had faded by the end of the 1950s and she recorded her last album in 1966. You can read all about the life and career of Her Nibs Georgia Gibbs here and here and read her obituary in The Independent here.

[ Georgia Gibbs: August 17, 1919 — December 9, 2006 ]