Hubbard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and associated in his youth with various musicians in Indianapolis, including Wes Montgomery and Montgomery's brothers. Chet Baker was an early influence, although Hubbard soon aligned himself with the approach of Clifford Brown (and his forebears: Fats Navarro and Dizzy Gillespie).
Hubbard's jazz career began in earnest after moving to New York City in 1958. While there, he worked with Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, J. J. Johnson, Philly Joe Jones, Oliver Nelson, and Quincy Jones, among others. He gained attention while playing with the seminal hard bop ensemble Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, appearing on such albums as Mosaic, Buhaina's Delight, and Free For All. He left the Messengers in 1964 to lead his own groups and from that time maintained a high profile as a bandleader or featured as a special guest, but never merely a sideman.
Along with two other trumpeters also born in 1938, Lee Morgan (d. 1971) and Booker Little (d. 1961), Hubbard exerted a strong force on the direction of 1960s jazz. He recorded extensively for Blue Note Records: eight albums as a bandleader, and twenty-eight as a sideman. Most of these recordings are regarded as classics. Hubbard appeared on a few early avant-garde landmarks (Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch and John Coltrane's Ascension), but Hubbard never fully embraced free jazz, though it did influence his playing.
After leaving Blue Note, Hubbard recorded for the Atlantic label and moved toward a more commercial style. His next label was CTI Records where he recorded his best-known works, Red Clay, First Light, and Sky Dive. By 1970, his fiery, melodic improvisation and phenomenal technique established him as perhaps the leading trumpeter of his day, but a series of commercially oriented smooth jazz albums spawned some negative criticism. After signing with Columbia Records, Hubbard's albums were almost exclusively in a commercial vein. However, in 1976, Hubbard toured and recorded with V.S.O.P., led by Herbie Hancock which presented unadulterated jazz in the style of the 1960s Miles Davis Quintet (with Hubbard taking the place of Davis).
1980s projects moved between straight-ahead and commercial styles, and Hubbard recorded for several different labels including Atlantic, Pablo, Fantasy, Elektra/Musician, and the revived Blue Note label. The slightly younger Woody Shaw was Hubbard's main jazz competitor during the 1970s and 1980s, and the two eventually recorded together on three occasions. Hubbard participated in the short-lived Griffith Park Collective, which also included Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White.
Following a long setback of health problems and a serious lip injury in 1992, Hubbard played and recorded occasionally, but not at the high level that he set for himself during his earlier career.
On December 29, 2008, Hubbard's hometown newspaper, Hubbard died from complications from a heart attack suffered on November 26 of the same year.
Love Me or Leave Me
Freddie Hubbard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You won't believe me that I love you only
I'd rather be lonely than happy with somebody else
You might find the night time the right time for kissing
But night time is my time for just reminiscing
Regretting instead of forgetting with somebody else
There'll be no else unless that someone is you, you, you
I intend to be independently blue
I want your love but I don't want to borrow
I have it today and give back tomorrow
For my love is your love but there's no love for nobody else
The lines in Freddie Hubbard's song "Love Me or Leave Me" express the singer's desire to be loved unconditionally or else left alone to his loneliness. When he says, "Love me or leave me and let me be lonely," he makes it clear that he has no interest in being with anyone who does not truly love him. He doesn't want to be with someone just for the sake of being in a relationship, but he wants to be with someone who truly understands and reciprocates his love.
The next lines, "You won't believe me that I love you only, I'd rather be lonely than happy with somebody else," further emphasize his unrelenting loyalty to his love interest. He believes that his love is genuine and that it should be enough for his partner to believe him. He would rather be alone than to pretend to be happy with someone else. When he continues "there'll be no else unless that someone is you, you, you," he is showing a willingness to be vulnerable and open to the possibility of love, but only with the right person who understands him and reciprocates his feelings.
The final lines, "I intend to be independently blue, I want your love but I don't want to borrow, I have it today and give back tomorrow, for my love is your love but there's no love for nobody else" express his determination to maintain his independence while still wanting the reciprocation of love. He doesn't just want someone to give him love for a short period of time but wants to hold onto that love and ensure that it continues even in the future. He is faithful to his love interest and hopes for the same in return.
Line by Line Meaning
Love me or leave me and let me be lonely
Make a choice to either love me and allow me to be left alone or leave entirely
You won't believe me that I love you only
You might have doubts that my love for you is true and focused solely on you
I'd rather be lonely than happy with somebody else
I prefer being alone than making myself happy with someone else instead of you
You might find the night time the right time for kissing
Perhaps night time seems like the perfect time to make love to you with a kiss
But night time is my time for just reminiscing
However, night time is when I like to think back and reflect on the past
Regretting instead of forgetting with somebody else
Rather than forgetting about my memories and past experiences, I regret them when I'm with someone else
There'll be no else unless that someone is you, you, you
I won't consider anyone else as an option except for you
I intend to be independently blue
I plan to be a solitary melancholic, and that's okay with me
I want your love but I don't want to borrow
I desire your love, but I don't want it to be temporary or incomplete
I have it today and give back tomorrow
I have genuine love to offer, and I don't intend to keep it for too long
For my love is your love but there's no love for nobody else
My love is solely yours, and I can't give my love to anyone else
Lyrics © DONALDSON PUBLISHING CO, TOBAGO MUSIC COMPANY, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gus Kahn, Walter Donaldson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
el Biter
What a masterpiece. The first time I heard it on the radio I was convinced it was Rufus & Chaka Khan.
IronMan93
All the ingredients are there though, no one can blame you.
Aaron Kelly
Yup and never knew about this song until I found the original 12” at this record store for $5. I also looked it up on discogs bc I never heard this before and only 5 ppl. had for sale and rare bc usually at least 50 being sold on discogs. Oh and that was just the US sellers.
Silence
@Aaron Kelly Too bad this song is not on spotify. Just like other funky stuff from Hubbard like 'Splash'
Aaron Kelly
@Silence, you’re right and they miss all the best surf and need to expand their selections for folks like us with taste, 🤠🎶
rayleighrocket
Lovely, classy bittersweet tune. Memories of '81 in funky Essex.
Simon Ceccarelli
Let's get serious... what a class!!
Nicci Van Doran
Had forgotten about this one....amazing.luv it
Garyf
absolute class
snipe Groovy girl
Sublimissime une dune pureté absolue évasion totale