In her earliest recordings, Anita O'Day was the featured vocalist with the big bands of Gene Krupa (1941-1942 and 1945–1946) and Stan Kenton (1944).
With Stan Kenton In her first years as a solo act, Anita O'Day recorded several dozen live and in-studio songs, including ten tracks produced by Bob Thiele in Fall 1947 for the Signature label.
Anita O'Day sang with small and large studio ensembles for the Clef and Norgran labels formed by Norman Granz.
This time period brought O'Day to the attention of the Jazz world, making 14 records.
Spending several years kicking her drug and alcohol habit, O'Day re-emerged onto the music scene in 1970.