Freddie Hart

Frederick Segrest (December 21, 1926 – October 27, 2018), Hart charted singles from 1953 to 1987, and later became a gospel singer. He also performed at music festivals and other venues until his death in 2018.

Biography Childhood and military service Hart was born to a sharecropper family in Loachapoka, Alabama, United States, 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 five 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. The album of the same name also reportedly went gold. The song also earned Hart a Grammy Award nomination.

From this success, Hart and his backup band, the Heartbeats, had a string of top-five hits with "My Hang-Up Is You" (six weeks at number one in 1972), "Bless Your Heart" (number one in 1972), "Got the All Overs For You (All Over Me)" (number one in 1972), "If You Can't Feel It (It Ain't There)" (1973), "Super Kind of Woman" (number one 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). 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of new albums on CDs, showcasing his passion for gospel music, patriotism, and the traditional country sound that originally made him famous.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 retained a large following in Europe and the U.S., performing at music festivals, universities, churches, and industry events.

Hart continued to write and record gospel music during the 2000s. 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. His final performance was in March 2018 on the Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree as a special guest of David Frizzell's. 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 was released in late 2018.

Hart died as a result of pneumonia on October 27, 2018, in Burbank, California.

Discography Albums Year Album Chart positions RIAA Label US Country US 1962 The Spirited Freddie Hart Columbia 1966 The Hart of Country Music 19 Kapp Straight from the Heart 1967 A Hurtin' Man The Neon and the Rain 1968 Togetherness 32 Born a Fool 35 1969 Greatest Hits 1970 New Sounds Capitol 1971 California Grapevine 23 Easy LovingA 1 37 Gold 1972 My Hang-Up Is You 2 89 Bless Your Heart 3 93 The World of Freddie Hart 37 Columbia 1972 Got the All Overs for You 1 Capitol 1973 Super Kind of Woman 1 Trip to Heaven 5 188 If You Can't Feel It (It Ain't There) 8 1974 Hang in there Girl 6 Country Heart 'N Soul 14 1975 Freddie Hart's Greatest Hits 9 Presents the Heartbeats The First Time 14 1976 People Put to Music 20 That Look in Her Eyes 44 1977 The Pleasure's Been All Mine 44 1978 Only You 1979 My Lady 1980 A Sure Thing 52 Sunbird AEasy Loving also peaked at No. 67 on the RPM Top Albums chart.

Singles Year Single Chart positions Album US Country CAN Country 1953 "Butterfly Love" singles only "My Heart Is a Play Ground" 1954 "Loose Talk" "Caught at Last" "Please Don't Tell Her" 1955 "Miss Lonely Heart" "No Thanks to You" "Hiding in the Darkness" 1956 "Dig Boy Dig" "Snatch It and Grab It" "Drink Up and Go Home" The Spirited Freddie Hart 1957 "On the Prowl" (w/ Brenda Lee) single only "Fraulein" The Spirited Freddie Hart "Say No More" singles only "Heaven Only Knows" 1958 "I Won't Be Home Tonight" "I'm No Angel" The Spirited Freddie Hart 1959 "The Wall" 24 "Chain Gang" 17 1960 "The Key's in the Mailbox" 18 1961 "Lying Again" 27 single only "What a Laugh!" 23 The Spirited Freddie Hart 1962 "Like You Are" singles only "Stand Up" 1963 "I'll Hit It with a Stick" "Angels Like You" "For a Second Time" 1964 "First You Go Through Me" "Hurt Feels So Good" The Hart of Country Music 1965 "You've Got It Coming to You" "Hank Williams' Guitar" (w/ The Heartbeats) 23 1966 "Why Should I Cry Over You" (w/ The Heartbeats) 45 "Together Again" Straight from the Heart "Misty Blue" A Hurtin' Man 1967 "I'll Hold You in My Heart" 63 "Neon and the Rain" The Neon and the Rain 1968 "Togetherness" 24 13 Togetherness "Born a Fool" 21 8 Born a Fool "Don't Cry Baby" 70 singles only 1969 "Why Leave Something I Can't Use" "I Lost All My Tomorrows" 1970 "The Whole World Holding Hands" 27 New Sounds "One More Mountain to Climb" 48 "Fingerprints" 41 "California Grapevine" 68 California Grapevine 1971 "Easy Loving"A 1 1 California Grapevine 1972 "My Hang-Up Is You" 1 1 My Hang-Up Is You "Bless Your Heart" 1 4 Bless Your Heart "Got the All Overs for You (All Over Me)" 1 1 Got the All Overs for You 1973 "Super Kind of Woman" 1 1 Super Kind of Woman "Born a Fool" (re-release) 41 32 Born a Fool "Trip to Heaven" 1 1 Trip to Heaven "If You Can't Feel It (It Ain't There)" 3 5 If You Can't Feel It (It Ain't There) 1974 "Hang in There Girl" 2 Hang in there Girl "The Want-To's" 3 3 "My Woman's Man" 3 2 Country Heart 'N Soul 1975 "I'd Like to Sleep Til I Get Over You" 5 20 "The First Time" 2 1 The First Time "Warm Side of You" 6 3 1976 "You Are the Song (Inside of Me)" 11 1 "She'll Throw Stones at You" 12 6 People Put to Music "That Look in Her Eyes" 11 That Look in Her Eyes 1977 "Why Lovers Turn to Strangers" 8 3 "Thank God She's Mine" 11 4 The Pleasure's Been All Mine "The Pleasure's Been All Mine" 13 23 "It's Heaven Loving You" flip "The Search" (w/ The Heartbeats) 43 1978 "So Good, So Rare, So Fine" 27 32 Only You "Only You" 34 "Toe to Toe" 21 35 My Lady 1979 "My Lady" 40 53 "Wasn't It Easy Baby" 28 57 1980 "Sure Thing" 15 A Sure Thing "Roses Are Red" 33 1981 "You're Crazy Man" 31 "You Were There" 38 singles only 1985 "I Don't Want to Lose You" 81 1987 "Best Love I Never Had" 77 A"Easy Loving" also peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 31 on the Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and No. 21 on the RPM Top Singles chart.

The Heartbeats Freddie Hart first used the name Heartbeats, a play on his last name, as his backing on a one-off 1967 album credited to Freddie Hart and the Heartbeats, but after his hit "Easy Loving" in 1971, ten studio albums were released between 1972 and 1977 credited to Freddie Hart and the Heartbeats. Various musicians performed in the Heartbeats over the years, including Bobby Wayne and Dennis Hromek, both of whom would go on to join the Strangers. During their heyday in the mid-1970s, the Heartbeats even released one studio album credited to just themselves in 1975.

Awards and nominations Grammy Awards

Best Country Vocal Performance, Male Best Country Song Academy of Country Music Awards 1966

Entertainer of the Year Easy Loving Album of the Year

Single Record of the Year

"Bless Your Heart"

Entertainer of the Year Top Male Vocalist of the Year Bless Your Heart Album of the Year Country Music Association Awards

Single of the Year

Male Vocalist of the Year Entertainer of the Year