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Hadda Brooks
Brooks as the singer of "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" in the film In a Lonely Place (1950)
Background information
Birth name	Hattie L. Hapgood
Born	(1916-10-29)October 29, 1916 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	November 21, 2002(2002-11-21) (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Blues, boogie woogie, jazz, R&B
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instrument(s)	Piano, vocals
Years active	1940s–2000s
Labels	Modern, Crown, Virgin, Point Blank, Oldie Blues

Hadda Brooks (October 29, 1916 – November 21, 2002) was an American pianist, vocalist and composer, who was billed as "Queen of the Boogie". She was Inducted in the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.

Career

Brooks became a singer during the mid-1940s.

In the 1970s, she commuted to Europe for performances in nightclubs and festivals. She performed rarely in the United States, and moved to Australia. Queen of the Boogie, a compilation of recordings from the 1940s, was released in 1984. Two years later her manager Alan Eichler brought her out of a 16-year retirement before she went on tour. She sang at Hawaii's statehood ceremony in 1959 and was asked for a private audience by Pope Pius XII.

She resumed her recording career with the 1994 album Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere for DRG. Virgin Records acquired the old Modern catalogue and, thanks to Brooks' new-found success, issued a compilation of her 1940s and 1950s recordings entitled That's My Desire. The label signed her to record three songs for the Christmas album Even Santa Gets the Blues, made more unusual by the fact she had releases on the same label 50 years apart. Time Was When (Virgin, 1996) included 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". Concerts were held at Michael's Pub in New York City, and the Vine St. Bar and Grill.

In 2007, a 72-minute documentary on Brooks's life, Queen of the Boogie, directed by Austin Young and Barry Pett, was presented at the Los Angeles Silver Lake Film Festival.

Personal

Jules Bihari gave her the recording name "Hadda Brooks".

In 1940, Brooks married Earl "Shug" Morrison, of the Harlem Globetrotters, but was widowed within a year and never re-married.

Brooks died at the age of 86 at White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles after open-heart surgery.

Discography

Filmography

References

1. Larkin, Colin. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Guinness Limited, page 563, (1995); ISBN 1-56159-176-9
2. "Obituary: Hadda Brooks". the Guardian. February 4, 2003. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
3. Vladimir, Bogdanov. All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues, Backbeat Books, page 68 (2003); ISBN 0-87930-736-6
4. Mchie, Benjamin. "Hadda Brooks, Pianist, and Singer born". African American Registry. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
5. Watrous, Peter (July 26, 1989). "With Boogie-Woogie, Hadda Brooks Is Back". The New York Times.
6. Hadda Brooks, the 'Queen of Boogie' dies, sfgate.com; accessed November 9, 2014.
7. E-notes: Hadda Brooks Biography; accessed November 9, 2014.
8. "Queen of the Boogie" Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, audience.silverlakefilmfestival.org; accessed November 9, 2014.
9. Cohassey, John F. Toast of the Town: The Life and Times of Sunnie Wilson, Wayne State University Press, page 156, (1998); ISBN 0-8143-2696-X
10. "Obituary: Hadda Brooks". the Guardian. February 4, 2003. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
11. Morris, Chris (November 26, 2002). "Billboard Bits: Cher, El Mocambo, Hadda Brooks". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2018.

External links

• Interview of Hadda Brooks Center for Oral History Research, UCLA Library Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles

• 1916 births
• 2002 deaths
• 20th-century American women pianists
• 20th-century American pianists
• 20th-century American women singers
• 20th-century African-American women singers
• African-American pianists
• American blues pianists
• Boogie-woogie pianists
• Ace Records (United States) artists
• Arwin Records artists
• Kent Records artists
• Modern Records artists
• Okeh Records artists
• Oldie Blues artists
• Musicians from Los Angeles
• Musicians from Greater Los Angeles
• American women jazz pianists
• 20th-century American singers
• 21st-century African-American musicians
• 21st-century African-American women