Alberta Hunter biography, Alberta Hunter discography
American blues singer, songwriter, and nurse.There, she peeled potatoes by day and hounded club owners by night, determined to land a singing job.Her persistence paid off, and Hunter began a climb through some of the city's lowest dives to a headlining job at its most prestigious venue for black entertainers, the Dreamland ballroom.The Europeans treated her as an artist, showing her respect and even reverence, which made a great impression on her.Her career as singer and songwriter flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, and she appeared in clubs and on stage in musicals in both New York and London.Williams secretly sold the recording rights to Columbia Records, in a deal giving the royalties to Williams.In 1928, Hunter played "Queenie" opposite Paul Robeson in the first London production of Show Boat at Drury Lane.Casablanca and continued entertaining troops in both theatres of war for the duration of World War II and into the early postwar period.Korea, but her mother's death in 1954 led her to her seek a radical career change.She prudently reduced her age, "invented" a high school diploma, and enrolled in nursing school, embarking on what was apparently a fulfilling career in healthcare.The following month, Albertson recorded her again, this time for the Riverside Records record label, reuniting her with Lil Armstrong and Lovie Austin, with whom she had performed in the 1920s.Hunter enjoyed these outings, but had no plans to return to singing.She was prepared to devote the rest of her life to nursing, but the hospital retired her in 1977, when they believed her to have reached retirement age (she was in fact well over 80).Society Uptown and Downtown clubs.Her Columbia albums, The Glory of Alberta Hunter, Amtrak Blues, and Look For the Silver Lining, did not do as well as expected, but sales were nevertheless healthy.There were also numerous television appearances, including on To Tell The Truth (in which panelist Kitty Carlisle had to recuse herself, the two having known each other in Hunter's heyday).As capacity audiences continued to fill The Cookery nightly, concert offers came from Brazil to Berlin, and there was an invitation for her to sing at the White House.The comeback lasted six years, and Hunter toured in Europe and South America, made more television appearances, and enjoyed her renewed recording career as well as the fact that record catalogs now once again contained her old recordings, going back to her 1921 debut on the Black Star label.Alberta Hunter's life is documented in Alberta Hunter: My Castle's Rockin' (1998), a documentary by Stuart Goldman Productions, and in Cookin' at the Cookery, a biographical musical by Marion J.Caffey that has toured the United States in recent years.The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray.Faderman, Lillian (1991), Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, Columbia University Press, p.External links
Alberta Hunter at the Internet Movie Database
Alberta Hunter: My Castle's Rockin' at the Internet Movie Database
Hunter biography and discography at Redhotjazz.This page was last modified on 26 February 2008, at 03:34.Folk's I ain't got a crying penny, my poor feet on the ground,
And if I ever want to be somebody I sho'got to leave this town
Alberta Hunter was a self confident youngster who loved to sing and recieved encouraging comments from family and friends.Her family did not locate her for about two years, but then decided to let her stay.At age 15 Alberta tried to find a job as a singer often giving her age as 18, but Chicago was plagued with problems arising from very young girls being hired to sing and play in brothels and sleazy clubs, she had little success.The luxurious Dreamland Cafe became a mecca for the moneyed crowd and a show piece for black talent.Hearted Blues", "You Shall Reap What You Sow," and "Chirping The Blues."Well, I'm worried now but I won't be worried long.Style and beat were as important as lyrics to her performances.Her genius flowed from a mixture of musical talent and the powerful, complex experiences she had had as a young black woman.In 1927 she traveled to Europe with engagements in Nice, Monte Carlo and London.Work was tough to get because of problems obtaining labor permits, offers were far and few between.She has been told, and truthfully, that Copenhagen critics were the most stringent in Europe.He did not have that swing.She was to appear first in the bar...Her entrance caused a murmur of admiration.Dark Brown voice with velvet overtone.Handy, Margaret Bonds, Benny Carter and Maxine Sullivan to name a few.Alberta withdrew from the glamour and glitter of that world after Word War II to care for her ailing mother in Harlem.Sharp witted as ever she was busily trying to get better royalties for her early blues.The stage and spotlight brought her back to renewed fame and glory, her love, her life.How Long, Sweet Daddy, How Long?While she made important contributions to all of these stylistic genres, she is claimed exclusively by no single mode of endeavor.Alberta Hunter
Complete Recorded Works, Vol.All Rights Reserved
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Alberta Hunger was a vocalist of Early Blues who got her start singing in Chicago night clubs in 1912.Her singing was often done Cabaret style, be she could also inflect in tones similar to a brass horn.After making various records in the 1920s (with Louis Armstrong standing in on some of the sessions) she seldom recorded again, diverting her energy toward being a nurse.Yet once she turned 82 (in 1977) Hunter began singing jazz in New York's Cookery until 1984.Alberta Hunger was a vocalist of Early Blues who got her start singing in Chicago night clubs in 1912.Hear Alberta Hunter and similar artists on this channel.Blues singer, lyricist, and actress Alberta Hunter, a distinctive stylist and one of the top recording artists in the 1920s and 1930s, experienced a dramatic comeback in her old age.Alberta Hunter was destined to become a legend.Born on April 1, 1895 in Memphis, Tennessee, where she was reared, Hunter left home at age fifteen for Chicago, where, lying about her age, she launched her singing career in the city's nascent saloon and club scene, performing first with King Oliver's legendary Creole Jazz Band.Possessed of abundant talent and stage presence, Hunter rose quickly to become one of the city's leading attractions in the 1910s and 1920s.Among her best known recordings are those of "'Taint Nobody's Business If I Do" and "Aggravatin' Papa."Having been molested as a child, in disturbing incidents that she would recall later in life, Hunter was largely disdainful of men, particularly those who would control and manipulate her.In the days of Prohibition, almost anything went, and in the notorious "buffet flats," where many of the saloon singers also entertained, homosexuality was, if not fully accepted, at least tolerated and acknowledged.Hunter was notoriously tight with money, while Lottie was something of a dilettante without much income of her own.Eventually, Lottie fell in love with another woman.Hunter also maintained serious flirtations with men but none developed into a lasting relationship.During her later years, rather than pursue the company of either men or women, Hunter focused her attention on caring for Miss Laura.She performed in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen.Hunter credited herself as the "first colored girl singing in languages."During World War II she led several USO companies on missions to entertain American troops.She even gave a command performance for General Eisenhower at war's end.Hunter sought a new career.She conned her way into a New York hospital's training program for licensed practical nurses by subtracting a dozen years from her age.No one ever suspected that she had been a star, and she was not one to recall those days.She broke her vow not to perform only once during her tenure as a nurse, in 1961, to rerecord her signature composition, "Down Hearted Blues," with pianist Lovie Austin, who wrote the music.Her voice deepened and enriched by the intervening years, she proved a sensation.She performed regularly at The Cookery in Greenwich Village and was a hit with audiences worldwide.She died on October 17, 1984, aged 89.Smith, Bessie
Gifted with a powerful voice and sophisticated musical artistry, singer Bessie Smith conducted her life by her own set of rules and had affairs with both men and women.Black Pearls: Blues Queens of the 1920s.Alberta Hunter: A Celebration in Blues.Your use of this site indicates that you accept its Terms
of Service.Alberta Hunter was born in Memphis, Tennessee.She left home for Chicago at eleven or twelve years old with the aspiration of becoming a singer.However, by 1915, she began a career singing in nightclubs.The 1920s was a decade of success for Hunter.In 1926, she received the leading role in the Broadway show How Come?.Europe and began performing in nightclubs and theatre productions, such as in the London production of Showboat with Paul Robeson.For a while, Hunter traveled back and forth between the United States and Europe, but eventually decided to stay in Europe indefinitely.After the war, she resumed her performances in Europe, Canada, and in the U.Throughout her career, Hunter had the opportunity to work with performers such as Fats Waller, Lil Hardin Armstrong, King Oliver, and the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra.While her recordings were good, it was her live performances that were great.She was considered an exceptionally gifted live singer, which contributed immensely to her success.After attending nursing school, she became a nurse in New York City.She recorded one album in 1961 before retiring from nursing in 1977.American History
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Add to: iGoogleMy Yahoo!EventsWork at AboutSiteMapAll TopicsReprintsHelpUser AgreementEthics PolicyPatent Info.Note: some videos not suitable for minors may still appear in search results.The video has been added to your playlist.This video will appear on your blog shortly.Thank you for sharing this video!Change the value of a comment by clicking on a thumb.Now he threads my needleAnd he creams my wheatHeats my heaterAnd he chops my meatMy man...Well he shakes my ashesAnd greases my griddleChurns my butterAnd strokes my fiddleMy man...He flaps my flap jacksCleans off the tableFeed the horsesIn my stableMy man...And do you knowSometimes he's upWay before dawnBusy cleaning the rough edges of my lawnMy man...Alberta Hunter just ripened to perfection with the years.Would you like to comment?
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