Alberta Hunter is one of the famous Blues Singer, who was born on the memorable day of April 1 in the year 1895. Hailing from the vibrant city of Tennessee, Alberta Hunter is a proud citizen of United States.
Chicago blues singer and nurse who, after taking a brief retirement, performed deep into her eighties. She recorded numerous songs in her early years, and in the 1940s, she toured with the USO.
Over the years, not only have skills been honed, but a significant impact has also been made in the professional field. Whether it's through work, public appearances, or contributions to the community, Alberta Hunter continues to be an inspiration for many.
Personal Information
Details about Alberta Hunter
Popular As:
Alberta Hunter
First Name:
Alberta
Last Name:
Hunter
Gender:
Female
Birthday:
April 1
Birth Year:
1895
Death Date:
1984-10-17
Death Day:
October 17
Death Year:
1984
Place of Death:
New York, NY
Place of Burial:
Ferncliff Cemetery
Career
Arriving in Chicago at the age of fifteen, she initially found little work outside of brothels and disreputable joints until the upscale club Dago Frank’s hired her as a soloist.
She left singing to start a career as a nurse, which she kept well into her second singing career.
Family
She was born in Memphis, Tennessee, running away from home at age twelve to travel. Though mostly known for her music, she did have a walk-on role in Robert Altman’s Remember My Name and she also sang on the soundtrack.
Alberta Hunter Timeline
1906
Her father left when she was a child, and to support the family her mother worked as a servant in a brothel in Memphis, although she married again in 1906.
1914
By 1914 she was receiving lessons from a prominent jazz pianist, Tony Jackson, who helped her to expand her repertoire and compose her own songs.
1917
She had a five-year association with the Dreamland, beginning in 1917, and her salary rose to $35 a week.
1919
In 1919, Hunter married Willard Saxby Townsend, a former soldier who later became a labor leader for baggage handlers via the International Brotherhood of Red Caps, but the marriage was short-lived.
1920
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.
1922
The songs she wrote include the critically acclaimed "Downhearted Blues" (1922).
1923
In early 1923, she suggested that Columbia records should record Oliver's band, but when she was not available to record with them, Columbia refused.
1924
With a vocal duet chorus between Clarence Todd and herself, "Cake Walking Babies (From Home)," featuring the Bechet and Armstrong, was another one of Hunter's hits recorded in December 1924 during her time in New York City.
1927
In August 1927, she sailed for France, accompanied by Lottie Tyler, the niece of the well-known comedian Bert Williams.
1928
In 1928, Hunter played Queenie opposite Paul Robeson in the first London production of Show Boat at Drury Lane.
1930
She spent the late 1930s fulfilling engagements on both sides of the Atlantic and the early 1940s performing at home.
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1934
She subsequently performed in nightclubs throughout Europe and appeared for the 1934 winter season with Jack Jackson's society orchestra at the Dorchester, in London.
1935
While at the Dorchester, she made several HMV recordings with the orchestra and appeared in Radio Parade of 1935 (1934), the first British theatrical film to feature the short-lived Dufaycolor, but Hunter's segment was one of only two in color.
1957
O. troupes in Korea, but her mother's death in 1957 led her to seek a radical career change.
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1960
She had already made a brief return by performing on two albums in the early 1960s, but now she had a regular engagement at a Greenwich Village club, becoming an attraction there until her death, in October 1984.
1961
Hunter was still working at Goldwater Memorial Hospital in 1961 when she was persuaded to participate in two recording sessions.
1971
In 1971 she was videotaped for a segment of a Danish television program, and she taped an interview for the Smithsonian Institution.
1976
In the summer of 1976, Hunter attended a party for her long-time friend Mabel Mercer, hosted by Bobby Short; music public relations agent Charles Bourgeois asked Hunter to sing and connected her with the owner of Cafe Society, Barney Josephson.
1977
After twenty years of working as a nurse, Hunter resumed her singing career in 1977.
1978
She also had a walk-on role in Remember My Name, a 1978 film by Alan Rudolph, for which producer Robert Altman commissioned her to write and to perform the soundtrack music.
1988
Hunter's life was documented in Alberta Hunter: My Castle's Rockin' (1988 TV movie), a documentary written by Chris Albertson and narrated by the pianist Billy Taylor, and in Cookin' at the Cookery, a biographical musical by Marion J.
2009
Hunter's comeback album, Amtrak Blues, was honored by the Blues Hall of Fame in 2009.
2011
Hunter was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
2020
Hunter's life and relationship with Lottie Tyler are represented in the play Leaving the Blues by Jewelle Gomez, produced by the TOSOS theatre company in New York City in 2020.
