Hattie Hart
| Hattie Hart | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Hattie Bolten |
| Origin | Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Genres | Memphis blues, country blues[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1920s–1930s |
| Labels | Victor, Vocalion |
Hattie Hart was an American Memphis blues singer and songwriter. She was active as a recording artist in the late 1920s to the mid 1930s, and her best known tracks were "I Let My Daddy Do That" and "Coldest Stuff in Town". Hart worked both as a solo artist, and previously as a singer with the Memphis Jug Band. Little is known of her life outside of music.[1]
It was stated that "Hart wrote gritty songs about love, sex, cocaine and voodoo".[2]
Career
Hart was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, around 1900,[2] and first recorded with the Memphis Jug Band in 1928.[3] She had a reputation for the parties that she hosted at this time.[1] Hart also sang in the Beale Street area of Memphis, busking with various musicians, where she became one of the best known performers.[2][4] Hart was said to sing in the style of Sara Martin,[5] and be a "marvellous, tough voiced singer".[6]
Her earliest recording with the Memphis Jug Band, the self-penned "Won't You Be Kind?" (1928), contained blues dialect in the lyrics, "Now twenty-five cents a saucer, seventy-five cents a cup, But it's an extra dollar papa, if you mean to keep it up".[7] There are five known recordings of Hart with the Jug Band between 1928 and 1930, before she undertook a recording session of her own in September 1934, with Allen Shaw and one other musician whom some blues historians believed to be Memphis Willie B. Hart recorded fourteen tracks, although only four of these were released at the time by Vocalion Records.[8][9]
Hart moved on to Chicago, and it is believed she recorded there in 1938 under the name of Hattie Bolten.[2] It is not reported whether this was her married name or a pseudonym.[10] After that, she disappeared from the public's attention and no further details of her life are known.[2]
Hart's song, "I Let My Daddy Do That" was covered by Holly Golightly on her 1997 album, Painted On.[11]
Recordings
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| Month/year | Track | Songwriter | Contributors | Record label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | "Won't You Be Kind?" (Variously as "Won't You Be Kind To Me?") | Hattie Hart | Memphis Jug Band | Victor |
| 1930 | "Cocaine Habit Blues" | Jennie Mae Clayton | Memphis Jug Band | Victor |
| 1930 | "Oh Ambulance Man" | Hattie Hart | Memphis Jug Band | Victor |
| June 1930 | "Spider's Nest Blues" | Jennie Mae Clayton | Memphis Jug Band | Victor |
| June 1930 | "Papa's Got Your Bath Water On" | Hattie Hart | Memphis Jug Band | Victor |
| "You Wouldn't, Would You Papa" | Hattie Hart, others | |||
| September 1934 | "Coldest Stuff in Town" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, (duo); Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion | |
| September 1934 | "Happy-Go-Lucky-Blues" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion | |
| September 1934 | "I'm Missing That Thing" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion | |
| September 1934 | "I Let My Daddy Do That" | Hattie Hart | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion |
| September 1934 | "Down Home Shake" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
| September 1934 | "Runnin' Wild Blues" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
| September 1934 | "Mama, Easy Me Your Key" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
| September 1934 | "Lucky Some Day" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
| September 1934 | "Low Down Papa" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
| September 1934 | "Drop Down Papa" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
| September 1934 | "Didn't He Ramble" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
| September 1934 | "Country Farm Blues" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
| September 1934 | "Barrel House Mama" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
| September 1934 | "Home Breakin' Blues" | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion (unissued) | |
See also
References
- 1 2 3 "Biography by Joslyn Layne". Allmusic.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Russell Johnson. "Hattie Hart". Memphishistory.org. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- ↑ Britton, Alan John (2010). Uncle Art (1st ed.). Milton Keynes, England: AuthorHouse. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-4520-8388-9.
- ↑ O'Neal, Jim (2002). The voice of the blues: classic interviews from Living Blues magazine (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 53. ISBN 0-415-93653-5.
- ↑ Charters, Samuel Barclay (1977). Sweet as the showers of rain (1st ed.). Michigan: Oak Publications. p. 21. ISBN 0-8256-0178-9.
- ↑ "Big Road Blues Show". Sundayblues.org. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- ↑ Calt, Stephen (2009). Barrelhouse words: a blues dialect dictionary (1st ed.). Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-252-07660-2.
- 1 2 Stefan Wirz. "Illustrated Memphis Willie B. discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- ↑ "Hattie Hart: "I Let My Daddy Do That"". NME.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- ↑ "Hattie Hart". Centrohd.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- ↑ "Allmusic ((( Painted On > Review )))".
- ↑ "Allmusic ((( Hattie Hart > Songs > All Songs )))".
- ↑ Catherine Yronwode. "Blues Lyrics and Hoodoo: Supplementary Transcriptions". Luckymojo.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- ↑ Chris Smith. "Memphis Jug Band Vol. 3 (1930)". Document-records.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.