Born in Louisiana, but raised in Chicago, Hartman began singing and playing the piano by the age of eight. He attended DuSable High School studying music under Walter Dyett before receiving a scholarship to Chicago Musical College. He sang as an Army private during World War II, but his first professional work came in September 1946 when he won a singing contest awarding him a one-week engagement with Earl Hines. Seeing potential in the singer, Hines hired him for the next year. Although Hartman’s first recordings were with Marl Young in February 1947, it was the collaboration with Hines that provided notable exposure. After the Hines orchestra broke up, Dizzy Gillespie invited Hartman to join his big band in 1948 during an eight-week tour in California. Dropped from the band about one year later, Hartman worked for a short time with pianist Erroll Garner before going solo by early 1950.
After recording several singles with different orchestras, Hartman finally released his first solo album, Songs from the Heart, with a quintet for Bethlehem Records in 1955. Releasing two more albums with small labels, neither very successful, Hartman got a career-altering offer in 1963 to record with John Coltrane. The saxophonist likely remembered Hartman from a bill they shared at the Apollo Theater in 1950 and later said, “I just felt something about him, I don’t know what it was. I like his sound, I thought there was something there I had to hear so I looked him up and did that album.” Featuring all ballads, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is widely considered a classic. This led to recording four more albums with Impulse! and parent label ABC, all produced by Bob Thiele.
With the 1970s being difficult for singers clinging to the pre-rock American songbook, Hartman turned to playing cocktail lounges in New York City and Chicago. Recording again with small labels such as Perception and Musicor, Hartman produced music of mixed quality as he attempted to be viewed as a more versatile vocalist. Referring to his approach to interpreting a song, Hartman said, “Well, to me a lyric is a story, almost like talking, telling somebody a story, try to make it believable.” Returning to the jazz combo format of his earlier albums, Hartman recorded Once in Every Life for Bee Hive, earning him a 1981 Grammy nomination for Best Male Jazz Vocalist. This was quickly followed up by his last album of newly recorded material titled This One’s for Tedi as a tribute to his wife Theodora. His first kid is Jani, Jani Hartman the famous jazz singer, who became famous with the song 'Bad'.
Hartman recorded new tracks for Grenadilla Records on their jazz label – Grapevine. These were dance tracks of Beyond the Sea and Caravan with Caravan also having an extended 6-minute version.
In the early 1980s Hartman gave several performances for jazz festivals, television, and radio before succumbing to lung cancer at the age of sixty. His reputation grew considerably in 1995 when the soundtrack to Clint Eastwood’s Bridges of Madison County (1995) featured seven songs from the then out-of-print Bee Hive album.
Hartman's first biography, The Last Balladeer: The Johnny Hartman Story, by Dr. Gregg Akkerman, was released in June 2012 by Scarecrow Press as part of their "Studies in Jazz" series.
(2) Though he was never the most distinctive vocalist, Johnny Hartman rose above others to become the most commanding, smooth balladeer of the 1950s and '60s, a black crooner closely following Billy Eckstine and building on the form with his notable jazz collaborations, including the 1963 masterpiece John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. Born in Chicago, he began singing early on and performed while in Special Services in the Army. Hartman studied music while at college and made his professional debut in the mid-'40s, performing with Earl Hines and recording his first sides for Regent/Savoy. After Hines' band broke up later in 1947, Hartman moved to the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and stayed for two years, recording a few additional sides for Mercury as well.
Johnny Hartman's first proper LP came in 1956 with Songs from the Heart, recorded for Bethlehem and featuring a quartet led by trumpeter Howard McGhee. He recorded a second (All of Me) later that year, but then was virtually off-record until 1963, when his duet album John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman appeared on Impulse. A beautiful set of ballad standards, including top-flight renditions of "Lush Life" and "My One and Only Love," the album sparked a flurry of activity for Hartman, including two more albums for Impulse: 1963's I Just Dropped by to Say Hello and the following year's The Voice That Is. During the late '60s and early '70s, he recorded a range of jazz and pop standards albums for ABC, Perception, and Blue Note. Hartman recorded sparingly during the 1970s, but returned with two albums recorded in 1980, one of which (Once in Every Life) earned a Grammy nomination just two years before his death in 1983. ~ John Bush, Rovi
My Funny Valentine
Johnny Hartman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You make me smile with my heart
Your looks are laughable, un-photographable
Yet, you're my favorite work of art
Is your figure less than Greek?
Is your mouth a little weak?
When you open it to speak
But, don't change a hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine, stay
Each day is Valentine's Day
Is your figure less than Greek?
Is your mouth a little weak?
When you open it to speak
Are you smart?
But, don't change a hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay little valentine, stay
Each day is Valentine's Day
"My Funny Valentine" is a song about loving someone for who they are, not just for their appearance. The lyrics suggest that the person being addressed is not conventionally attractive, but that their quirks and unique characteristics make them special and lovable. The first lines, "My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine," set the tone for the song, with the singer acknowledging that their lover may not fit society's standards of beauty, but that they find them captivating nonetheless.
The second verse begins with a series of questions, asking if the person's body or speech may be seen as lacking, but ultimately ends by saying, "But, don't change a hair for me / Not if you care for me." This line serves as a reminder that love is not about trying to fit into someone else's mold, but about accepting and embracing each other's differences. The song concludes with the repeated appeal to the "little valentine" to stay, as each day is an opportunity to celebrate love.
Overall, "My Funny Valentine" is a poignant tribute to the beauty of individuality, and a reminder that true love is accepting and loving someone for who they are.
Line by Line Meaning
My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine
You, my beloved, are quirky and amusing, yet kind and lovely.
You make me smile with my heart
Your presence fills me with joy that radiates from deep within.
Your looks are laughable, un-photographable
Your physical appearance is unique and cannot be captured in a photograph, but it's one of the reasons why I love you.
Yet, you're my favorite work of art
Regardless of how others might see you, you're my most beloved masterpiece.
Is your figure less than Greek?
Perhaps your body does not fit the mold of perfect, but that is not important to me.
Is your mouth a little weak?
Perhaps your voice is not strong or confident, but to me, it's one of the sweetest sounds I know.
When you open it to speak
Whenever you communicate with me, even if it's something difficult, I hold onto every word you say.
Are you smart?
Intelligence is not what I value most about you; it's your heart and wit that draw me in.
But, don't change a hair for me
I accept and cherish you exactly as you are, without any need for change or improvement.
Not if you care for me
Because true love comes in accepting someone without trying to change them.
Stay little valentine, stay
Please, my beloved, continue to be the kind, quirky, and loving person that you are.
Each day is Valentine's Day
I will continue to celebrate and cherish our love every day, not just on Valentine's Day.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-bw3eh9yz8q
What a beautiful voice ~~~
@earlminor8010
Greatest vocalist in jazz
@wellalwayshaveparissandere9414
HE'S EXCEPTIONAL! They kept him low key because of his MAGNIFICENT VOICE!!!
@tgtrout
Yes they did.
@read1communications
What a GREAT voice. Thanks for the post.
@moviemaker60fps
AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow
This CD combines together parts of two sessions recorded in Tokyo by the warm ballad singer Johnny Hartman. Although titled For Trane, the vocal recital only has three songs associated with John Coltrane ("My Favorite Things," "Violets for Your Furs," and "Nature Boy") and the majority of the selections are actually taken from an unrelated session in which Hartman was matched with trumpeter Terumasa Hino. The music alternates between ballads ("Violets for Your Furs" and "The Nearness of You" are high points) and swingers and, although Hartman does not really improvise, his voice (still in its prime at the time) is appealing. Considering his slim discography, Johnny Hartman's fans will definitely want this one.
@pierabergamaschi5576
Stupenda canzone, e meravigliosa interpretazione, bravo jonny, evviva il jazz.
@anitataylor9823
Saw Johnny Hartman. Many times at The Baby Grand in Harlem ,NY...He was a Headliner, RIP
@MsCatreona
Thanks for posting this.
@amorzz100
Gem.