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.
I'm Having A Good Time
Alberta Hunter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm having a good time me
Please don't blame me oh
I'm knocking myself out yes
Don't try to tame me hey
Let me have my fun
I've got to have my fling yes
Talk don't mean a thing, ooo
I'm having a fiesta while I'm living
'Cause tomorrow I may die, yes
That's why I'm having a ball today
And I ain't passin nothin' by
So if I make my bed hard
That's my problem, let me lay
I'm having a good time, living my life today
Play it, play it Jackie
I said, I'm having a good time, yeah
Please don't blame me, ho
I'm knocking myself out
Don't try to tame me
Let me have my fun
I've got to have my play
Some folks say, snappin' my cap
Talk don't mean a thing, not now, hey
I'm living my life while I'm living
'Cause tomorrow I may die
That's why I'm having a fiesta today
And I ain't passing nothing by, ha
If I make my road rough
That's the price that I've got to pay not you, ha
I'm having a good time, living my life today
In Alberta Hunter's song "I'm Having a Good Time," she expresses the importance of living life to the fullest and not worrying about what others might think or say. She starts by saying that she is having a good time and asks those around her not to blame her for it. She then emphasizes that she is not going to let anyone tame her or hold her back from enjoying herself. She is determined to have her fling and live her life to the fullest.
Hunter then explains that she is having a fiesta while she is still living because she does not know what tomorrow may bring. She is having a ball today and is not going to pass anything by. Hunter understands that if she makes her bed hard or her road rough, it is her own problem, and she is willing to face the consequences. Ultimately, she is having a good time and living her life today.
The lyrics of "I'm Having a Good Time" are a testament to Alberta Hunter's positive outlook on life. She believes that we should live life to the fullest while we still can and not worry too much about what others might think or say. We should not let anyone hold us back from enjoying ourselves and having a good time. The song serves as a reminder to appreciate the moment and not take life for granted.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah this is me!
I am who I am, and I'm owning it.
I'm having a good time me
I'm enjoying my life and having fun.
Please don't blame me oh
Don't judge me for living my life the way I want to.
I'm knocking myself out yes
I'm putting in a lot of effort to enjoy my life to the fullest.
Don't try to tame me hey
Don't try to control how I live my life.
Let me have my fun
Allow me to enjoy my life and have fun without interference.
I've got to have my fling yes
I need to experience life and have some fun.
Some folks say I'm blowing my top
Some people think I'm being reckless or foolish.
Talk don't mean a thing, ooo
I'm not concerned with what people say about me.
I'm having a fiesta while I'm living
I'm enjoying life to the fullest while I'm alive.
'Cause tomorrow I may die, yes
I don't know what the future holds, so I'm living for today.
That's why I'm having a ball today
I'm making the most of every moment and enjoying myself.
And I ain't passin nothin' by
I'm not missing out on any opportunities to have fun and enjoy life.
So if I make my bed hard
If I have to face consequences for my actions, it's my responsibility.
That's my problem, let me lay
I'm willing to accept the consequences of my actions.
I'm having a good time, living my life today
I'm enjoying my life right now, in the present moment.
Play it, play it Jackie
Keep the good times rolling, let's enjoy the moment.
I said, I'm having a good time, yeah
Just in case you missed it, I'm having a great time.
Please don't blame me, ho
Don't judge me for enjoying my life.
I'm knocking myself out
I'm putting in a lot of effort to have fun and enjoy my life.
Let me have my fun
Please don't interfere with my enjoyment of life.
I've got to have my play
I need to experience life and enjoy myself.
Some folks say, snappin' my cap
Some people might think I'm losing my mind or being foolish.
Talk don't mean a thing, not now, hey
I don't care what people think or say about me, I'm going to keep enjoying my life.
I'm living my life while I'm living
I'm making the most of my time on earth.
'Cause tomorrow I may die
I don't know what the future holds, so I want to enjoy my life while I can.
That's why I'm having a fiesta today
I'm celebrating life and having fun.
And I ain't passing nothing by, ha
I'm not missing out on any opportunities to enjoy life to the fullest.
If I make my road rough
If I have to face consequences for my actions, it's my responsibility.
That's the price that I've got to pay not you, ha
I'll accept the consequences of my actions, it's not anyone else's problem.
I'm having a good time, living my life today
I'm enjoying my life right now, in the present moment.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Alberta Hunter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind