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.
Beale Street Blues
Alberta Hunter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Old Market Street down by the Frisco Bay,
I've strolled the Prado, I've gambled on the Bourse;
The seven wonders of the world I've seen,
And many are the places I have been,
Take my advice, folks, and see Beale Street first!
You'll see pretty browns in beautiful gowns,
You'll meet honest men, and pick-pockets skilled,
You'll find that business never ceases 'til somebody gets killed!
If Beale Street could talk, if Beale Street could talk,
Married men would have to take their beds and walk,
Except one or two who never drink booze,
And the blind man on the corner singing "Beale Street Blues!"
I'd rather be there than any place I know,
I'd rather be there than any place I know,
It's gonna take a sergeant for to make me go!
I'm goin' to the river, maybe by and by,
Yes, I'm goin' to the river, maybe by and by,
Because the river's wet, and Beale Street's done gone dry!
In Alberta Hunter’s song, “Beale Street Blues,” the singer shares their experiences of traveling around the world and seeing many famous landmarks, but encourages listeners to visit Beale Street first. Beale Street, located in Memphis, Tennessee, was a hub for African American music, culture, and commerce in the early twentieth century. The singer describes the diverse and lively scene on Beale Street, where you can see people of all backgrounds dressed in a range of clothing, from beautiful gowns to hand-me-downs. However, the singer also warns of the dangers present on Beale Street, including pickpockets and violence.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the connection between Beale Street and music. If Beale Street could talk, the singer imagines that the married men would have to leave, except for a few who do not drink alcohol. The only sound that would remain is the voice of a blind street performer singing the “Beale Street Blues.” The singer concludes the song by expressing their strong attachment to Beale Street and resistance to leaving, saying it would take a sergeant to make them go.
Overall, “Beale Street Blues” is a tribute to the rich history and unique culture of Beale Street, and the song highlights the importance of music in shaping the identity of this space.
Line by Line Meaning
I've seen the lights of gay Broadway,
I have personally witnessed the vibrancy and excitement of Broadway, a hub for queer culture.
Old Market Street down by the Frisco Bay,
I have walked down Market Street, located by the bay area in San Francisco.
I've strolled the Prado, I've gambled on the Bourse;
I have leisurely walked down the Prado and taken part in gambling on the Bourse.
The seven wonders of the world I've seen,
I have observed the seven wonders of the world, known for their magnificence and significance in human history.
And many are the places I have been,
I have had the opportunity of traveling to a great many places.
Take my advice, folks, and see Beale Street first!
I highly recommend that you visit Beale Street before anything else.
You'll see pretty browns in beautiful gowns,
On Beale Street, you will bear witness to gorgeous shades of brown skin adorned in elegant gowns.
You'll see tailor-mades and hand-me-downs,
On Beale Street, you will encounter individuals sporting custom-tailored outfits, as well as clothes passed down from generation to generation.
You'll meet honest men, and pick-pockets skilled,
On Beale Street, you will come across honest individuals, as well as slick pickpockets who specialize in taking what isn't theirs.
You'll find that business never ceases 'til somebody gets killed!
On Beale Street, money talks and doesn't stop flowing until someone gets hurt or killed.
If Beale Street could talk, if Beale Street could talk,
If Beale Street had a voice, if Beale Street had a voice,
Married men would have to take their beds and walk,
Husbands would be forced to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere if Beale Street could talk.
Except one or two who never drink booze,
The only exception would be the select few who do not indulge in alcohol.
And the blind man on the corner singing "Beale Street Blues!"
The only other sound you'll hear is the blind man on the street corner singing about the Beale Street Blues.
I'd rather be there than any place I know,
Personally, I would rather be on Beale Street than any other place that comes to mind.
It's gonna take a sergeant for to make me go!
It would take a high-ranking military officer to forcefully remove me from the allure of Beale Street.
I'm goin' to the river, maybe by and by,
I think I'll head to the river sooner or later.
Yes, I'm goin' to the river, maybe by and by,
Indeed, I'm planning to visit the river in the near future.
Because the river's wet, and Beale Street's done gone dry!
The river is currently providing water, while Beale Street has seemingly run out of what it has to offer.
Lyrics © BRASSWORKS MUSIC, Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER HANDY, LUTHER HENDERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Great Pianists
OH MAN he gets such a RICH SOUND from that organ! (well, him and the Victor recording engineers) Estey sure made a fine pipe organ (good reed organs too), and the folks really knew how to make it sound good! I can't believe the range that they were able to get on the record back in 1927! You can hear the 16' basses nice and clear! (Of, course, I'm sure this has been re-mastered for best fidelity). Gotta love those tasty blues figures!
Jorge Edgardo
La primera vez que escuché este tema fue en 1970 y escribí en el sobre del disco: "¡¡¡Belleza!!!!"
Bonnie Huntsinger
Wonderful!! Thank you for posting this rare gem! :)
Gloria Picchetti
My BF played one of her CDs for me. I can't wait to show him this.
koenkamphuys
Not only had the church good acoustics, but Victor had some of the very best recording equipment of the time. Electrical recording just existed two years when this was taken. The basses of the organ were captured magnificently - just listen from 1:52. Though I wonder if anyone will have noticed when playing it on their fully acoustical Victrola.
Steven Heywood
koenkamphuys I fully agree and some people say this could've been remastered ? .. possibly, but you can only re-master what was recorded from monaural to say stereo...yet the sounds from this recording are quite sublime regardless from such an early recording.
66phillipsjd
Ahh, play that thang, Mr. Waller, lawd..... Thanks for posting this; hearing him on organ rather than piano is fabulous, especially with such a great vocalist.
William Magliocco
Listen to Count Basie on organ...Fats and Count both worked in movie theaters playing organ during the silent movie era.
Gary Mattscheck
A GREAT record!I have a copy coming from EBay.
Lars Arnell
Wonderful!