Hadda Brooks (born Hattie L. Hapgood October 29, 1916 – November 21, 2002) was an American pianist, vocalist and composer, who occasionally appeared playing the piano in film. Billed as "Queen of the Boogie",Larkin, Colin. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Guinness Limited, page 563, (1995); she was inducted in the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.
Career Brooks became a singer during the mid-1940s.Vladimir, Bogdanov. All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues, Backbeat Books, page 68 (2003); Jules Bihari of Modern Records gave her the recording name "Hadda Brooks".Cohassey, John F. Toast of the Town: The Life and Times of Sunnie Wilson, Wayne State University Press, page 156, (1998);
In the 1970s, she commuted to Europe for performances in nightclubs and festivals. She performed rarely in the United States, and moved to Australia. Queen of the Boogie, a compilation of recordings from the 1940s, was released in 1984. Two years later her manager Alan Eichler brought her out of a 16-year retirement before she went on tour. She sang at Hawaii's statehood ceremony in 1959, and was once invited to a private audience with Pope Pius XII.Hadda Brooks, the 'Queen of Boogie' dies, sfgate.com; accessed November 9, 2014.
She resumed her recording career with the 1994 album Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere for DRG. Virgin Records acquired the old Modern catalogue and, thanks to Brooks' new-found success, issued a compilation of her 1940s and 1950s recordings entitled That's My Desire.E-notes: Hadda Brooks Biography; accessed November 9, 2014. The label signed her to record three songs for the Christmas album Even Santa Gets the Blues, made more unusual by the fact she had releases on the same label 50 years apart. Time Was When (Virgin, 1996) included Al Viola (guitar), Eugene Wright (bass) and Richard Dodd (cello), and she wrote two of its songs: "You Go Your Way and I'll Go Crazy" and "Mama's Blues". Concerts were held at Michael's Pub in New York City, and the Vine St. Bar and Grill.
In 2007, a 72-minute documentary on Brooks's life, Queen of the Boogie, directed by Austin Young and Barry Pett, was presented at the Los Angeles Silver Lake Film Festival."Queen of the Boogie" , audience.silverlakefilmfestival.org; accessed November 9, 2014.
Personal In 1940, Brooks married Earl "Shug" Morrison, of the Harlem Globetrotters, but was widowed within a year and never re-married.
Brooks died at the age of 86 at White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles after open-heart surgery.
Discography Year Title Genre Label 1957 Femme Fatale Jazz, blues Crown 1958 Swings the Boogie Jazz, blues Crown 1963 Sings and Swings Jazz, blues Crown 1971 Hadda Jazz, blues Rob Ray 1984 Queen of the Boogie Jazz, blues Oldie Blues 1988 Romance in the Dark Jazz, blues Jukebox Lil 1993 Romance in the Dark (The Modern Recordings) Jazz, blues Ace 1994 Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere Jazz, blues DRG 1994 That's My Desire (The Modern Recordings) Jazz, blues Virgin/Flair 1995 Even Santa Gets the Blues Jazz, blues Pointblank/Virgin 1996 Time Was When Jazz, blues Pointblank/Virgin 1997 Jump Back Honey: The Complete OKeh Sessions Jazz, blues Columbia/Legacy 1999 I've Got News for You [2-CD] Jazz, blues Pointblank/Virgin 2003 Swingin' the Boogie Jazz, blues Ace 2005 That's Where I Came In Jazz, blues Ace
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1947 Out of the Blue Herself 1948 Boogie Woogie Blues Herself 1949 The Joint is Jumpin' Herself 1950 In a Lonely Place Herself 1952 The Bad and the Beautiful Piano Player Uncredited1995 The Crossing Guard Piano Player 1999 The Thirteenth Floor Lounge Piano Player 2000 John John in the Sky Mrs. Kendricks (final film role)
References
External links Interview of Hadda Brooks Center for Oral History Research, UCLA Library Special Collections, University of California, Los Angeles