Cool Heat

James Gavin is the author of five acclaimed books and dozens of New York Times features; he is a worldwide public speaker, a Grammy nominee, and a recipient of two ASCAP Deems Taylor-Virgil Thomson Awards for excellence in music journalism. His most recent book is George Michael: A Life (Abrams Press, 2022). His previous books are Is That All There Is?: The Strange Life of Peggy Lee (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, 2014), Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne (Atria Books, 2009), Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker (Knopf, 2002; republished by Chicago Review Press in 2011), and Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret (Grove Weidenfeld, 1991; Back Stage Books, 2006).

I knew Anita O’Day and, like all of us musicians, I admired this beautiful, musically savvy, sometimes tormented lady who dared to be different. James Gavin was the perfect choice to tell her story. His experience and awareness have enabled him to craft this complicated tale like no other writer could. Bravo, James!  -Carol Kaye (one of the most widely recorded studio bass guitarists in pop history)Both shocking and inspiring, this portrait of a true jazz legend reveals a life far from ordinary, explored with honesty and depth on every page. A thoroughly compelling read.-Claire Martin OBE (two-time winner of the British Jazz Award for Best Vocalist)Anita O'Day knocked me out with her rhythm, her spontaneity, and her outrageously wacky bad-girl vibe. She took chances that most of us would never have the nerve to try. James Gavin has captured it all in this insightful page-turner of a biography.-Michelle Phillips (singer, actress, and member of the Mamas and the Papas)Inhabiting his subject with an eye for fine detail and comprehensive, knowledgeable musical appreciation, James Gavin illuminates Anita O'Day's immeasurable impact on jazz singing with empathy and understanding. He shows us the all-too-human persona behind her transcendent way with a song and demonstrates why her legend continues to fascinate, enthrall, and sing to us today.-Lenny Kaye (guitarist, co-founder of the Patti Smith Group, and author of Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll)What a dame. She was jazz. Anita O’Day had the mouth of a sailor, the voice of a tiger, the appetites of a rajah. Music, dope, men – she did it all with no regrets. In Cool Heat, the ferocious pop historian James Gavin applies his acclaimed skills to this unique, indeed dangerous character in a biography that sings like its subject.-Joel Selvin (New York Times best-selling author and veteran pop-rock journalist)