Hadda Brooks

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", she was inducted in the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.

Career Brooks became a singer during the mid-1940s. Jules Bihari of Modern Records gave her the recording name "Hadda Brooks".

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.

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. 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.

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