Born in Memphis, she left home while still in her early teens and settled in Chicago, Illinois. There, she peeled potatoes by day and hounded club owners by night, determined to land a singing job. Her persistence paid off, and Hunter began a climb through some of the city's lowest dives to a headlining job at its most prestigious venue for black entertainers, the Dreamland ballroom. She had a five-year association with the Dreamland, beginning in 1917, and her salary rose to $35 a week.
She first toured Europe in 1917, performing in Paris and London. The Europeans treated her as an artist, showing her respect and even reverence, which made a great impression on her.
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. The songs she wrote include the critically acclaimed "Downhearted Blues" (1922). She recorded several records with Perry Bradford from 1922 to 1927.
Hunter recorded prolifically during the 1920s, starting with sessions for Black Swan in 1921, Paramount in 1922–1924, Gennett in 1924, OKeh in 1925–1926, Victor in 1927 and Columbia in 1929.
Hunter wrote "Downhearted Blues" while recording for Ink Williams at Paramount Records, but she received only $368 in royalties. Williams secretly sold the recording rights to Columbia Records, in a deal giving the royalties to Williams. The song became a big hit for Columbia, with Bessie Smith as the vocalist. Hunter learned what Williams had done and stopped recording for him.
In 1928, Hunter played "Queenie" opposite Paul Robeson in the first London production of Show Boat at Drury Lane. She subsequently performed in nightclubs throughout Europe and appeared for the 1934 winter season with Jack Jackson's society orchestra at London's Dorchester Hotel. One of her recordings with Jackson is Miss Otis Regrets (she is unable to Lunch Today). 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 only Hunter's segment was in color. She spent the late 1930s fulfilling engagements on both sides of the Atlantic and the early 1940s performing at home. In 1944, she took a U.S.O. troupe to Casablanca and continued entertaining troops in both theatres of war for the duration of World War II and into the early postwar period. In the 1950s, she led U.S.O. troupes in Korea, but her mother's death in 1954 led her to her seek a radical career change. She prudently reduced her age, "invented" a high school diploma, and enrolled in nursing school, embarking on what was apparently a fulfilling career in healthcare.
Hunter was working at New York's Goldwater Memorial Hospital in 1961 when record producer Chris Albertson asked her to break an 11-year absence from the recording studio. The result was her participation (four songs) on a Prestige Bluesville Records album, entitled Songs We Taught Your Mother. The following month, Albertson recorded her again, this time for the Riverside Records label, reuniting her with Lil Armstrong and Lovie Austin, both of whom she had performed with in the 1920s. Hunter enjoyed these outings, but had no plans to return to singing. She was prepared to devote the rest of her life to nursing, but the hospital retired her in 1977, when they believed her to have reached retirement age (she was aged over 80).
Bored by inactivity, Hunter decided to resume her singing career, because she "never felt better." In 1978, at the suggestion of Charles Bourgeois, restaurateur Barney Josephson offered Hunter a limited engagement at his Greenwich Village club, The Cookery. She accepted and a two-week gig proved a smash when the comeback garnered generous media attention and people started flocking into The Cookery.
Impressed with the attention paid her by the press, John Hammond signed Hunter to Columbia Records. He had not previously shown interest in Hunter, but he had been a close associate of Barney Josephson decades earlier, when the latter ran the Café Society Uptown and Downtown clubs. Her Columbia albums, The Glory of Alberta Hunter, Amtrak Blues, (where she sang the jazz classic "The Darktown Strutters' Ball"), and Look For the Silver Lining, did not do as well as expected, but sales were nevertheless healthy. There were also numerous television appearances, including on To Tell The Truth (in which panelist Kitty Carlisle had to recuse herself, the two having known each other in Hunter's heyday). There was also a walk-on role in Remember My Name, a film produced by film director Robert Altman, for which he commissioned her to write and to perform the soundtrack music. As capacity audiences continued to fill The Cookery nightly, concert offers came from Brazil to Berlin, and there was an invitation for her to sing at the White House. At first, she turned it down, because, she explained, "they wanted me there on my day off," but the White House amended its schedule to suit the veteran artist. During that time, there was also a visit from former First Lady turned book editor Jackie Onassis, who wanted to sign her up for an autobiography but was unhappy with the co-author assigned to the project. The book was eventually done for another publisher, with the help of writer Frank Taylor.
The comeback lasted six years, and Hunter toured in Europe and South America, made more television appearances, and enjoyed her renewed recording career as well as the fact that record catalogs now once again contained her old recordings, going back to her 1921 debut on the Black Swan label.
Hunter's life was documented in Alberta Hunter: My Castle's Rockin' (1998), a documentary written by Chris Albertson and narrated by pianist Billy Taylor, and in Cookin' at the Cookery, a biographical musical by Marion J. Caffey that has toured the United States in recent years with Ernestine Jackson as Hunter.
Hunter came from a difficult background. Her father left when she was a child and to support the family Hunter’s mother worked as a servant to a whorehouse in Memphis. Although she married again in 1906, Hunter was not happy with her new family. Hunter left for Chicago around the age of eleven, in the hopes of becoming a paid singer; she had heard that it paid ten dollars an hour. Instead of finding a job as a singer she had to earn money by working at a boardinghouse that paid six dollars a week as well as room and board. Hunter's mother left Memphis and moved in with her soon afterwards.
Hunter was a lesbian, though she kept her sexuality relatively private. Her 1919 marriage to Willard Saxby Townsend was short-lived. In August of 1927, she sailed for France, accompanied by Lottie Tyler, a New York lady whom she had met in Chicago a few years earlier. Their relationship lasted until Ms. Tyler's death, many years later.
Hunter eventually moved to New York City. She performed with Bricktop and recorded with Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. She continued to perform on both sides of the Atlantic, and as the head of the USO's first black show, until her mother's death, 1954. That year, she gave up show business and became a registered nurse. When Roosevelt Island's Goldwater Memorial Hospital retired her, believing her to have reached that age, Alberts (who was actually several years older) decided to return to singing. She had already made a brief return by appearing on two record albums, but now she too had a regular engagement at a Greenwich Village club, becoming a huge attraction there until her death in October 1984. She is buried in the Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hartsdale, Westchester County, New York (Elmwood section; plot 1411).
Hunter was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011, while her album Amtrak Blues had been previously honored in 2009.
Always
Alberta Hunter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a heart's that true, talkin' 'bout always heh
When the things you've planned
Need a helping hand,
I'll understand, always always
Things may not be fair, baby always, ha
But you'll find me there, always, na
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
I said always, woo
I'll be loving you, baby always, yeah
With a heart that's true, talkin' 'bout always, yeah
When the things you've planned
Need a helping hand,
I'll understand, always always
Things may not be fair, always, yeah
But you'll find me there, always, hey
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
Honey but always, ooo play it, talk to 'em, play it
I'm telling you, I'll be loving you, huh always, yeah
With a heart's that true, talkin' 'bout always heh
When the things you've planned
Need a helping hand,
I'll understand, always always, ooo
Things may not be fair, always, yeah
But you'll find me there, always, ha
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
Honey but all, talk to me, I said
I'll be loving you, always, ooo
With a heart that's true, baby always, yeah
When the thing you've planned
Need a helping hand,
I've got a fat man
I'll understand, always always
Things may not be fair, always, yeah
But you'll find me there, always, heh
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
Honey but always
The song "Always" by Alberta Hunter is a love ballad that speaks to the enduring nature of love in the face of life's challenges. The lyrics emphasize the singer's commitment to love her partner and be there for them through good times and bad. The repetition of the word "always" throughout the song emphasizes the singer's determination to be a constant presence in her loved one's life, no matter what challenges they may face.
The opening lines, "I'll be loving you, always, yeah/With a heart that's true, talkin' 'bout always heh" set the tone for the song and emphasize the singer's unwavering commitment. The lines "Things may not be fair, baby always, ha/But you'll find me there, always, na" acknowledge that life can be difficult and uncertain, but that the singer will always be there to support and love her partner. The final lines, "Not for just an hour,/Not for just a day,/Not for just a year,/I said always, woo" drive home the idea that the singer's love is not fleeting or temporary, but is a constant force that will endure for years to come.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll be loving you, always, yeah
I promise to love you forever, no matter what.
With a heart's that true, talkin' 'bout always heh
I mean every word I say, and I will love you with a pure heart always.
When the things you've planned
Need a helping hand,
I'll understand, always always
If you need my support to make your dreams come true, I will be there for you and empathize with you, always.
Things may not be fair, baby always, ha
But you'll find me there, always, na
Life can be tough, but I will stand by your side through thick and thin.
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
I said always, woo
I am not just here for a short period of time, but will always be here for you and love you forever.
I'll be loving you, baby always, yeah
With a heart that's true, talkin' 'bout always, yeah
My love for you will remain constant and sincere, always.
Things may not be fair, always, yeah
But you'll find me there, always, hey
Even when life is unfair, I will be there with you, always.
Honey but always, ooo play it, talk to 'em, play it
I will always be there for you, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart.
I'm telling you, I'll be loving you, huh always, yeah
With a heart's that true, talkin' 'bout always heh
I want to reassure you that my love for you will never falter and will always remain true.
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
Honey but all, talk to me, I said
I will always love you, and my love for you will endure for the rest of our lives.
I'll be loving you, always, ooo
With a heart that's true, baby always, yeah
My love for you will never fade away, and I will always be true to you.
When the thing you've planned
Need a helping hand,
I've got a fat man
I'll understand, always always
If you need my help to achieve your goals, I will be there for you and support you in any way possible.
Things may not be fair, always, yeah
But you'll find me there, always, heh
Even when life is tough, I will be by your side and be a constant source of love and support.
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
Honey but always
My love for you will last forever, and I will always be there for you no matter what.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Irving Berlin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind