Hank Fort

Hank Fort (née Eleanor Hankins, 1908–1973) was an American singer and songwriter of the mid 20th century from Nashville, Tennessee. She composed over 400 songs, many with a humorous Southern viewpoint, including "Put Your Shoes On, Lucy" (recorded by Petula Clark), and "I Didn't Know the Gun Was Loaded" The Andrews Sisters, and "Save Your Confederate Money, Boys, the South Shall Rise Again". Known for her humor and sunny personality, her Washington, D.C. apartment was a gathering place for scores of admirers, many of whom were political figures. These included Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Johnson, Hale Boggs and Liz Carpenter (Lady Bird Johnson's press secretary). In 1960, Fort campaigned actively for John F. Kennedy, traveling in the South entertaining with Mrs. Johnson, Ethel Kennedy, Eunice Shriver, and Jean Kennedy Smith. Her composition, "Look With Pride On Our Flag", was played at the second inauguration of Richard Nixon in 1973. Upon her death January 12, 1973, Barry Goldwater delivered the eulogy at her memorial service.

Early life

Hank Fort was born Eleanor Hankins on June 19, 1908, in Nashville, Tennessee. She attended Peabody Demonstration School and Ward–Belmont College, where she became known by the nickname "Hank". After graduation, during World War II, she began writing songs and entertaining at army camps.

Her father, Cornelius Hankins (1863–1946), was a portrait artist. He studied with Robert Henri (leader of the "Ashcan School") and with William Merritt Chase in New York. Hankins' portraits of political figures and military generals are displayed in the US state capitol buildings of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. She began writing songs for the presidential campaign of Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, which brought her to the attention of Lady Bird Johnson. After moving to Washington, D.C. with McAuliffe, her songs and her piano entertaining became popular in Washington society.

Career Fort composed over 400 songs. Estes Kefauver, Albert Gore, George Smathers, and Lyndon Johnson. It is a project that began as a Junior League undertaking, but grew into a larger community project. Fort was head of the project in Nashville to become one of the first junior theaters in the US to become self-sustaining. The lessons became a tradition of teaching dance along with the social niceties of the ballroom to generations of Nashville youth. Initially classes were at country clubs or Nashville's Parmer School; Fort came to terms with Albertine Maxwell to use her home at 3325 West End Avenue. Liz Carpenter wrote her obituary.