Hart charted singles from 1953 to 1987, and later became a gospel singer. He performed at music festivals and other venues until he died.
Hart was born to a sharecropper family in Loachapoka, Alabama, in 1926 and spent his childhood in nearby Phenix City, Alabama, along with his 11 siblings (Nadine, Bo, Junior, Olin, Marrell, Pearl, Lonnie, Sandra, Gail, J.P., Harold, and a child who died in infancy). He learned to play guitar at age 5 and quit school by age 12. At age 15, Hart lied about his age to join the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, seeing combat action on Guam and Iwo Jima. Following the war, Hart lived in California where he taught classes in self-defense at the Los Angeles Police Academy.
Hart got an early career break when singer Carl Smith covered Hart's song "Loose Talk" in 1955. Other artists who recorded his songs included Patsy Cline ("Lovin' In Vain"), George Jones ("My Tears are Overdue") and Porter Wagoner ("Skid Row Joe").
During the early 1950s, Hart and his family moved to California to further the growing country music scene there. In 1951, he joined Lefty Frizzell's band for a year. It was through Frizzell that Hart got his first recording contract with Capitol Records in 1953. He released several singles including his version of "Loose Talk", but none of these were successful. In 1958, Hart signed with Columbia Records and scored his first chart hit with "The Wall" in 1959 which made the Top 20. His biggest hit for the label was the 1960 Top 20 hit "The Key's In The Mailbox".
In 1965, Hart signed with Kapp Records where he would score several Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1968. The biggest of these hits included "Hank Williams' Guitar" (1965), "Born A Fool" (1968) and "Togetherness" (1968).
In 1969, Hart re-signed with Capitol Records and soon became a part of the Bakersfield sound by signing up with Buck Owens' songwriting and management company. In early 1970, he scored a Top 30 hit with "The Whole World's Holdin' Hands". Hart's song "Togetherness", a hit for him in 1968, became a Top 15 hit for Buck Owens and Susan Raye that summer. Hart would score several minor hits during the year.
In 1971, Hart released a song that he wrote called "Easy Loving" which was first recorded in the summer of 1969 for his album California Grapevine, released in 1970. Released in the summer of 1971, "Easy Loving" rapidly began climbing the charts; and by that September, it was No. 1 for three weeks on the country charts and reached No. 17 on the pop charts. It was also played on adult contemporary stations, earning a position on Billboard's Easy Listening survey. The song would ultimately win Hart numerous awards from both the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association. The song sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold record by the R.I.A.A. in November 1971. The album of the same name also reportedly went gold. The song also won a Grammy Award for Hart.
From this success, Hart and his backup band, the Heartbeats, had a string of Top 5 hits with "My Hang-Up Is You" (six weeks at No. 1 in 1972), "Bless Your Heart" (No. 1 in 1972), "Got the All Overs For You (All Over Me)" (No. 1 in 1972), "If You Can't Feel It (It Ain't There)" (1973), "Super Kind of Woman" (No. 1 in 1973), "Trip to Heaven" (No. 1 in 1973), "Hang In There Girl" (1974), "The Want-To's" (1974), "My Woman's Man" (1975), "The First Time" (1975), "I'd Like To Sleep Till I Get Over You" (1975) and "The Warm Side of You" (1975). He has been called by many fans as "The Heart and Soul of Country Music".[citation needed]
With the success of "Easy Loving" and other songs he wrote, plus a popular concert attraction on the road, Hart became independently wealthy and owned a songwriting company, a school for the blind, a trucking company, and a chain of martial arts studios—his hobby was as a master of karate.
By 1976, Hart continued to have major hits although now his streak of Top 10s were replaced by a streak of Top 20 and Top 30 hits. These included "You Are The Song Inside Of Me" (1976), "That Look In Her Eyes" (1976), "Thank God She's Mine" (1977), "The Pleasure's Been All Mine" (1977), "Toe to Toe" (1978), and "Wasn't It Easy Baby" (1979). His last Top 10 hit came with the hit "Why Lovers Turn to Strangers" in 1977, which peaked at No. 8. This song was written by east Idaho based composer Bobby Fender.
In 1980, Hart signed with Sunbird Records, and immediately scored a Top 20 hit with "Sure Thing" that year. He followed this up with 3 Top 40 hits in 1981. This ended his days as a major country artist. In 1985 and 1987, he had a couple of minor hits on El Dorado and 5th Avenue Records, with his last hit being "The Best Love I Never Had" in 1987 peaking at No. 77.
In 2001, Hart was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame[4] A few years later, Phenix City declared a major east-west street Freddie Hart Parkway in his honor.
Hart released a handful of new albums on CD, showcasing his passion for gospel music, patriotism and the traditional country sound that originally made him famous. These albums prompted him to selectively tour and perform concerts around the world. Hart retains a large following in Europe and the U.S., where he continued to perform at music festivals, universities, churches and industry events.
Hart continued to write and record Gospel Music during the 2000's. He received numerous awards and had several number one songs in the Gospel field. In 2004 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall Of Fame. In 2017 he performed in Pigeon Forge Tennessee and received the Hall Of Fame award from the North American Country Music Associations International. In March of 2018 he performed for the last time on the Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree as a special guest to David Frizzell. Hart sang a new song he had written and just recorded about Lefty Frizzell, titled simply "Lefty". In April 2018 Hart recorded his final album titled "God Bless You". The project, produced by David Frizzell, contains 11 newly written Gospel songs and a remake of his signature song "Easy Loving". The album is set to be released in late 2018.
Hart died as a result of pneumonia on October 27, 2018 in Burbank, California.
Loose Talk
Freddie Hart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Though fate kept us humble and made our love true
Oh but plans that we'd make up someone seems to break up
Oh darling what else can we do
We may have to leave here to find piece of mind dear
Some place where we can live a life of our own
Oh I know you love me and happy we could be
If some folks would leave us alone
When I go out walking there's lots of loose talking
They say we're unhappy and we'll break apart
But darling it's not true because I still love you
And I do it all with my heart
We may have to leave here
They say you are leaving that you are deceiving
But you tell me they say the same about me
But we'll show them there on that loose talk will do harm
And hope that's the truth they will see
We may have to leave here
If some folks would leave us alone
The lyrics of "Loose Talk" by Freddie Hart present a story of a couple who has been married for a while and faced challenges while trying to keep their love alive. The opening lines, "So long we've been married last burden we've carried/Though fate kept us humble and made our love true" suggest that the couple has faced hardships but has persevered. However, the lyrics then reveal that their plans to overcome their challenges often get thwarted by other people, as stated in the lines, "Oh but plans that we'd make up someone seems to break up/Oh darling what else can we do."
The following verses describe how the couple is constantly being talked about by others behind their backs. The lyrics, "When I go out walking there's lots of loose talking/They say we're unhappy and we'll break apart" demonstrate how the couple's private lives are being invaded by gossip and speculation. However, the singer emphasizes that their love is still strong, and they will not let the rumors affect them. The chorus of the song, "We may have to leave here to find a piece of mind dear/Some place where we can live a life of our own/Oh, I know you love me and happy we could be/If some folks would leave us alone" indicates a desire to escape the negativity and live in peace.
Overall, "Loose Talk" is a poignant composition that highlights the power of gossip and how it can affect people's lives. The song suggests that it is possible to overcome such challenges and stay committed to one's love.
Line by Line Meaning
So long we've been married last burden we've carried
Our love has stood the test of time, and we've supported each other through everything that's come our way.
Though fate kept us humble and made our love true
Despite the struggles we've faced, fate has brought us closer together and strengthened our love.
Oh but plans that we'd make up someone seems to break up
It feels like outside influences are always interfering with our plans and causing problems.
Oh darling what else can we do
We're at a loss for how to fix things and just want to be left alone.
We may have to leave here to find piece of mind dear
We might need to move away to escape the rumors and gossip and find a place where we can be at peace.
Some place where we can live a life of our own
We want to find a place where we can build a life together without judgment or interference from others.
Oh I know you love me and happy we could be
Despite what others might say, we know our love is real and could be happy together if people would just leave us alone.
If some folks would leave us alone
The constant gossip and rumors are causing a lot of pain and stress, and we wish people would just mind their own business.
When I go out walking there's lots of loose talking
People can't seem to resist spreading rumors and talking about us behind our backs when they see us in public.
They say we're unhappy and we'll break apart
The rumors are starting to take a toll, and some people believe that they're true and that our relationship is in trouble.
But darling it's not true because I still love you
Our love is real, and no matter what people say, we know in our hearts that we belong together.
And I do it all with my heart
Our love is genuine and comes entirely from the heart.
They say you are leaving that you are deceiving
The rumors are getting worse and now people are saying that one of us is planning to leave the other.
But you tell me they say the same about me
We're both being accused of things we haven't done, and it's causing a lot of tension and hurt feelings between us.
But we'll show them there on that loose talk will do harm
We refuse to let the rumors tear us apart, and we hope that eventually people will see the damage they're causing with their loose talk.
And hope that's the truth they will see
We hope that eventually people will realize that their gossip and rumors are causing a lot of pain and that they'll stop spreading them.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JIMMY DEAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
buzz bang
You know folks, Freddie Hart recorded 3 three different studio versions of this song. I have all 3 versions. I like all 3.
joe blow
If Freddie had recorded this good a version in 1954, it might have hit before Carl made it his own
SkidRowJim
Freddie Hart recorded' Loose talk' at Capitol in Hollywood Ca in Dec 1953 and released it Feb 1954...He recorded it again in Jul 1961(guitarists Hank Garland & Grady Martin) and put on his 1962 Columbia album 'The Spirited Freddie Hart'...In 1966 Harmony re-released the same album as 'The Best Of Freddie Hart'( minus a couple songs)...and basically the same album again in 1972 'Lonesome Love'...Carl Smith rec it Sept 1954 rel Oct 1954...Buck and Rose Maddox rec it Jan 1961 rel Apr 1961...srj
Gladys Perrin Dupouy
beautiful thank's