Hattie Hart
Encyclopedia
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.
It was stated that "Hart wrote gritty songs about love, sex, cocaine and voodoo".
, United States
, around 1900, and first recorded with the Memphis Jug Band in 1928. She also had a reputation for the parties that she hosted at this time. Hart also sang in the Beale Street
area of Memphis, busking with various musicians, where she became one of the best known performers. Hart was said to sing in the style of Sara Martin
, and be a "marvellous, tough voiced singer".
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". 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 believe to be Memphis Willie B.
Hart recorded fourteen tracks, although only four of these were released at the time by Vocalion Records
.
Hart moved on to Chicago
, and it is believed she recorded there in 1938 under the name of Hattie Bolten. It is not reported whether this was her married name or a pseudonym. After that, she disappeared from the public's attention and no further details of her life are known.
Hart's song, "I Let My Daddy Do That" was covered
by Holly Golightly
on her 1997 album, Painted On.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Memphis blues
Memphis blues
The Memphis blues is a style of blues music that was created in the 1920s and 1930s by Memphis-area musicians like Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie...
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
Memphis Jug Band
The Memphis Jug Band was an American musical group in the late 1920s and early to mid 1930s. The band featured harmonicas, violins, mandolins, banjos, and guitars, backed by washboards, kazoo, and jugs blown to supply the bass; they played in a variety of musical styles...
. Little is known of her life outside of music.
It was stated that "Hart wrote gritty songs about love, sex, cocaine and voodoo".
Career
Hart was born in Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, around 1900, and first recorded with the Memphis Jug Band in 1928. She also had a reputation for the parties that she hosted at this time. Hart also sang in the Beale Street
Beale Street
Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
area of Memphis, busking with various musicians, where she became one of the best known performers. Hart was said to sing in the style of Sara Martin
Sara Martin
Sara Martin was an American blues singer, in her time one of the most popular of the classic blues singers. She was billed as "The Famous Moanin' Mama" and "The Colored Sophie Tucker"...
, and be a "marvellous, tough voiced singer".
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". 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 believe to be Memphis Willie B.
Memphis Willie B.
Memphis Willie B. was an American Memphis blues guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter.He was known for his work with Jack Kelly's Jug Busters, the Memphis Jug Band, and his resurgence in the 1960s after years away from the music industry. He recorded "The Stuff Is Here" and "Stop...
Hart recorded fourteen tracks, although only four of these were released at the time by Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
.
Hart moved on to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and it is believed she recorded there in 1938 under the name of Hattie Bolten. It is not reported whether this was her married name or a pseudonym. After that, she disappeared from the public's attention and no further details of her life are known.
Hart's song, "I Let My Daddy Do That" was covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Holly Golightly
Holly Golightly
Holly Golightly is a British singer-songwriter. Her mother christened her after the protagonist in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. Her musical style ranges from garage rock to R&B.-Musical career:...
on her 1997 album, Painted On.
Recordings
| 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 Memphis Jug Band The Memphis Jug Band was an American musical group in the late 1920s and early to mid 1930s. The band featured harmonicas, violins, mandolins, banjos, and guitars, backed by washboards, kazoo, and jugs blown to supply the bass; they played in a variety of musical styles... |
Victor Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.... |
| 1930 | "Cocaine Habit Blues Cocaine Blues "Cocaine Blues" is a Western Swing song written by T. J. "Red" Arnall, a reworking of the traditional song "Little Sadie". This song was originally recorded by W. A. Nichol's Western Aces on the S & G label, probably in 1947, and by Roy Hogsed and the Rainbow Riders May 25, 1947, at Universal... " |
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" | Johnny Parth | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, (duo); Memphis Willie B. Memphis Willie B. Memphis Willie B. was an American Memphis blues guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter.He was known for his work with Jack Kelly's Jug Busters, the Memphis Jug Band, and his resurgence in the 1960s after years away from the music industry. He recorded "The Stuff Is Here" and "Stop... (probably) |
Vocalion Vocalion Records Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their... |
| September 1934 | "Happy-Go-Lucky-Blues" | Johnny Parth | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) |
Vocalion |
| September 1934 | "I'm Missing That Thing" | Johnny Parth | Hattie Hart, Allen Shaw, Memphis Willie B. (probably) | Vocalion |
| September 1934 | "I Let My Daddy Do That" | Johnny Parth, 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) | |