Humoresque Boogie - Music

Hadda Brooks October 29 1916 – November 21 2002 Was An American Pianist Vocalist And Composer. She Was Born Hadda Hapgood On October 29 1916 And Raised In The Boyle Heights Area Of Los Angeles By Her Parents Who Had Migrated To California From The South. Her Mother Goldie Wright Was A Doctor And Her Father John Hapgood A Deputy Sheriff. Her Grandfather Samuel Alexander Hopgood October 22 1857 – November 30 1944 Moved To California From Atlanta Georgia And Proved To Be An Enormous Influence On Brooks. He Introduced Her To Theater And The Operatic Voices Of Amelita Galli-Curci And Enrico Caruso. In Her Youth She Formally Studied Classical Music With An Italian Piano Instructor Florence Bruni With Whom She Trained For Twenty Years. She Attended The University Of Chicago And Later Returned To Los Angeles. She Came To Love The Subtle Comedy Of Black Theater And Vaudeville Entertainer And Singer Bert Williams. Brooks Began Playing Piano Professionally In The Early 1940s At A Tap-Dance Studio Owned By Hollywood Choreographer And Dancer Willie Covan. For Ten Dollars A Week She Played The Popular Tunes Of The Day While Covan Worked With Such Stars As Fred Astaire Gene Kelly And Shirley Temple. Brooks Was Married Briefly During This Period To A Harlem Globetrotter Named Earl "Shug" Morrison In 1941. She Toured With The Team When They Traveled. Morrison Developed Pulmonary Pneumonia However And Died About A Year After They Were Married. It Was Brooks' Only Marriage. Brooks Actually Preferred Ballads To Boogie-Woogie 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 Which Were Broadcast Live In Los Angeles And Repeated On KGO In San Francisco. She Commuted To Europe In The 1970s For Performances In Nightclubs And Festivals But Performed Rarely In The United States Living For Many Years In Australia And Hawaii. Following The 1984 Release Of Queen Of The Boogie A Compilation Of Recordings From The 40's Two Years Later Manager Alan Eichler Brought Her Out Of A 16-Year Retirement To Open A New Jazz Room At The Historic Perino's In Los Angeles After Which She Continued To Play Nightclubs Regularly In Hollywood San Francisco And New York To 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 In A Ceremony Held At The Hollywood Palace. Brooks Returned To Movies With A Cameo In Jack Nicholson's Film The Crossing Guard 1995 Directed By Sean Penn In Which She Sang "Anytime Anyplace Anywhere." Three Years Later She Made Another Singing Appearance In The Thirteenth Floor 1999 . Her Last Performance On Screen Was An Acting Role In "John John In The Sky" 2000 She Resumed Her Recording Career With The 1994 Album "Anytime Anyplace Anywhere" For DRG. Meanwhile Virgin Records Had Acquired The Old Modern Catalogue And Because Of Brooks' New-Found Success Issued A Compilation Of Her 40's And 50's Recordings Entitled "That's My Desire". They Also Signed Her To Record Three New Songs For The Christmas Album "Even Santa Gets The Blues " Made More Unusual By The Fact She Had Releases On The Same Label Made 50 Years Apart. Her 1996 Album For Virgin "Time Was When " Featured Al Viola Guitar Eugene Wright Bass And Richard Dodd Cello And She Wrote Two Of Its Songs "You Go Your Way And I'll Go Crazy" And "Mama's Blues." She Began Playing At Hip Nightclubs Like Actor Johnny Depp's Viper Room New York's Algonquin Hotel Oak Room And Michael's Pub And Such Hollywood Haunts As Goldfinger's The Vine St. Bar And Grill And The Hollywood Roosevelt Cinegrill. She Celebrated Her 80th Birthday By Performing Two Full Shows At Depp's Viper Room.
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.
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.
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"
"Anytime Anyplace Anywhere"
"You Won't Go"
"I Hadn't Anyone Till You" read less