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Hadda Brooks (October 29, 1916 – November 21, 2002), was a noted American pianist, vocalist and composer. Her first single, "Swingin' the Boogie", which she composed, was issued in 1945. She was billed as "Queen of the Boogie." Highlights of her life included singing at Hawaii's official statehood ceremony in 1959 and being asked for a private audience with Pope Pius XII.
Life and career
She was born Hattie L. Hapgood on October 29, 1916
Brooks actually preferred ballads to boogie-woogies, but worked up her style by listening to Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, and Meade Lux Lewis records. Her first recording, the pounding "Swingin' the Boogie," for Jules Bihari's Modern Records, was a sizable regional hit in 1945, and another R&B Top Ten with "Out of the Blue," her most famous song. It was Jules Bihari who gave her the recording name Hadda Brooks. Clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman recommended Brooks to a film director friend of his who placed her in the film Out of the Blue in 1947. Encouraged by orchestra leader Charlie Barnet, Brooks practiced singing "You Won't Let Me Go," and the song became her first vocal recording in 1947. She usually played the small part of a lounge piano player in films, and often sang the title song. "Out of the Blue" became a top hit for Brooks, "Boogie Woogie Blues" followed in 1948, and she appeared in In a Lonely Place (1950) starring Humphrey Bogart, and in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) with Lana Turner and Kirk Douglas. Brooks became the first African-American woman to host her own television show in 1957. The Hadda Brooks Show, a combination talk and musical entertainment show, aired on Los Angeles' KCOP-TV. The show opened with Brooks seated behind a grand piano, cigarette smoke curling about her, and featured "That's My Desire" as her theme song. She appeared in 26 half-hour episodes of the show. She commuted to Europe in the 1970s for performances in nightclubs and festivals, but performed rarely in the United States, reemerging in the late 1980s playing nightclubs regularly in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, receiving rave reviews.
In 1993, Brooks was presented with the Prestigious Pioneer Award by Bonnie Raitt on behalf of the Smithsonian-based Rhythm and Blues Foundation, at the Hollywood Palace. Brooks was in Jack Nicholsons film The Crossing Guard (1995), directed by Sean Penn, a situation brought about by the fact she was a long-time favorite of both star and director. Three years later she made another film appearance in The Thirteenth Floor (1999), her last appearance in film was in "John John in the Sky" (2000)
Her 1996 album Time Was When featured Al Viola (Guitar), Eugene Wright (Bass), Richard Dodd (Cello), and she wrote three of the songs on the album: "You Go Your Way", "I'll Go Crazy" and "Mama's Blues." She began playing at hip night clubs like actor Johnny Depp's Viper Room, New York's Algonquin Room, and at Hollywood haunts like Goldfinger's and the Cinegrill. Her eightieth birthday party was held at the Depp's Viper Room, and included such guests as actors Uma Thurman, and Jack Nicholson.
In 2000, the Los Angeles Music Awards honored Hadda Brooks with the "Lifetime Achievement Award."
Hadda Brooks died at White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles, following open-heart surgery at age 86.
In 2007, a 72-minute documentary, Queen of the Boogie, directed by Austin Young & Barry Pett, was presented at the Los Angeles Silver Lake Film Festival.
Her most famous songs include:
- "Swingin' the Boogie"
- "That's My Desire"
- "Romance in the Dark"
- "Don't Take Your Love From Me"
- "Say It with a Kiss"
Discography
Copyright Citations
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