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've Got A Mind To Ramble
Alberta Hunter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ooh, never work no more, hallelujah
Yes I got a mind to ramble
Never work no more
Oh, I got a mind to take a chance and gamble
Everywhere I go
Oh the grapevine's busy
Yes I said the grapevine's is busy
There's talk all over town
Ha they said the higher I try to raise you
The more you try to drag me down
You know I begged and I begged you
To mend your low down dirty ways, oh play it
Yes I begged you and I begged you
Mend your low down dirty ways
So I made up mind to leave ya
Been thinking about it for days and days, ooh
I'm leavin' tomorrow mornin'
Leavin' and it won't be long
Yes, I'm leaving tomorrow
Leavin' and it won't be long
You don't believe I'm going, brother
Just count the days I'm gone
Yes just as sure as Amtrak
Leaves that pencil yard, hallelujah
Yes I said, as sure as Amtrak leaves
That pencil yard, ho
I'm going back to Memphis
If have to ride the rod
Yes if you see me stealin', ooo
Promise not to tell on me
I said, if you see me stealing
Please don't you tell on me
'Cause I'm stealing back baby
Stealing back to my used to be
You know I got two men, maybe three
I just can't keep them apart, oh
Yes I got two men, lord
Can't keep them apart
One is my living
The other one is my heart, have mercy
Yes he's long and he's tall
Shaped just like a willow tree
Yes he's long and he's tall
Shaped just like a willow tree
I said dirty low down rascal
Put that thing on me, how
My girlfriend said the blacker the berry, hee
Sweeter is the juice
Talk to me
Yes she said the blacker the berry, hee
Sweeter is the juice
That's the reason I got a long tall young black one
For my personal use
In "I've Got A Mind To Ramble," Alberta Hunter expresses a desire to leave behind her current life of hard work and instead roam free. Hunter asserts that she's had enough of working and it's time she took a chance and gambled, "never work no more." She also admits to having affairs with two, maybe three men, one who is her entire livelihood and the other who is her heart. Though she has begged the latter to change their "dirty ways," Hunter has made up her mind to leave him behind. Though the grapevine is abuzz with talk about her, as she prepares to leave, she is resolute in her decision. She likens her departure to the Amtrak leaving the pencil yard and says she's going back to Memphis if she has to ride the rod. She also steals things back as she heads on her journey, and if her travels take her through stealing, she requests that no one tell on her. Hunter asserts that her black man is her personal use and implies that her ethnicity is desirable as well.
The song is an assertive statement about a woman's independence, her desire for freedom, and her ongoing search for love. The lyrics describe a woman who is determined to make her own choices in life, including in her romantic relationships. Despite the expectations of the society she lives in, she chooses to take risks and pursue what she wants. Alberta Hunter's powerful and soulful voice communicates the strength of the song's message, which is both spiritual and empowering.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got a mind to ramble
I feel like traveling and exploring the world without the need to work.
Ooh, never work no more, hallelujah
I'm excited to not have to work anymore.
Yes I got a mind to ramble
I really want to travel and experience new things.
Never work no more
I don't want to work anymore because I want to enjoy life.
Oh, I got a mind to take a chance and gamble
I have the urge to take risks and try my luck in new situations.
Everywhere I go
I want to go to as many different places as possible.
Oh the grapevine's busy
There is a lot of gossip and talk going around.
Yes, there's talk all over town, play it for me
People are talking about me all around town and I want to hear what they're saying.
Ha they said the higher I try to raise you
People have been telling me that the more they try to help me, the more I resist.
The more you try to drag me down
Despite their help, I feel like they're doing more harm than good.
You know I begged and I begged you
I've pleaded with you many times before.
To mend your low down dirty ways, oh play it
I asked you to change your dishonest and immoral behavior.
Mend your low down dirty ways
Stop being unfaithful and deceitful to me.
So I made up mind to leave ya
I've finally decided to leave you.
Been thinking about it for days and days, ooh
I've been considering this decision for a long time now.
I'm leavin' tomorrow mornin'
I'm leaving bright and early tomorrow.
Leavin' and it won't be long
My departure is imminent and won't take very long.
You don't believe I'm going, brother
You doubt my intention to leave.
Just count the days I'm gone
You'll see that I'm really leaving once you realize how long I've been gone for.
Yes just as sure as Amtrak
This travel is certain, just like the Amtrak train.
Leaves that pencil yard, hallelujah
I'm definitely leaving this place, and I'm elated.
I'm going back to Memphis
I'm returning to Memphis.
If have to ride the rod
Even if I have to hitchhike or travel in an unconventional way.
Yes if you see me stealin', ooo
If you catch me in the act of stealing,
Promise not to tell on me
Swear that you won't tell anyone.
I said, if you see me stealing
Again, if you notice me taking something without permission,
Please don't you tell on me
Please don't rat me out.
'Cause I'm stealing back baby
Because I'm taking back what's rightfully mine.
Stealing back to my used to be
I'm taking back something that used to belong to me.
You know I got two men, maybe three
I have two, possibly three, male partners in my life.
I just can't keep them apart, oh
I'm having trouble keeping them separate from each other.
Yes I got two men, lord
Again, I have two male partners.
Can't keep them apart
I'm struggling to differentiate between them.
One is my living
One of these men provides for me financially.
The other one is my heart, have mercy
The other man has my love and affection, and I care for him deeply.
Yes he's long and he's tall
One of the men I'm involved with is very tall and lanky.
Shaped just like a willow tree
He's slender like a willow tree is.
I said dirty low down rascal
One of my partners is not always honest and trustworthy.
Put that thing on me, how
He's very physically intimate with me.
My girlfriend said the blacker the berry, hee
One of my female companions told me that darker-skinned men have better sex.
Sweeter is the juice
According to this woman, having a darker-skinned partner leads to better sex.
Yes she said the blacker the berry, hee
She really believes that darker-skinned men are better lovers.
That's the reason I got a long tall young black one
I have a tall, dark-skinned lover because of this advice.
For my personal use
I enjoy being intimate with him because of his physical features.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Alberta Hunter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
irineu lima
She knows how to play the blues