Scope and Content Note
The Anita O'Day Papers span from 1939 to 2004 with the majority of the materials dating from the 1940s to the 1970s. The collection primarily consists of manuscript scores, lead sheets, parts, and annotated sheet music for arrangements of popular songs and jazz standards performed by O'Day throughout her career. Although much fewer in number than the lead sheets, the full scores and parts reflect her work with many prominent arrangers, including Buddy Bregman, Joe Castro, Russell Garcia, Bill Holman, Quincy Jones, Norman "Tiny" Kahn, Billy May, Roger Neumann, and Marty Paich. The collection also includes a small assortment of photographs, correspondence, clippings, scrapbook pages, honors and awards, posters, and publicity materials. Digitized images of the scrapbook pages are available.