deefstes
You gotta love Alberta Hunter. I remember years back I listened to some of her music but she has sneaked into the deepest recesses of my memory since - shame on me.
So today, by chance, I stumble upon some of her music again and thought I just have to share. Maybe some of yous know her but I'm sure you'll enjoy checking her out. Not only did she have an awesome voice, awesome stage personality and a wicked talent for writing songs, but she also had a very interesting life story.
She left home as a teen and started performing at the age of 19 at some of Chicago's most seedy joints. But she worked her way up until she became a highly acclaimed recording artist. When she was 60 her mother died and she decided it was time for a career change. She faked a high school diploma, lied about her age, and enrolled in nursing school, after which, for two decades she was a nurse.
She'd have been happy to spend the rest of her life as a nurse but the hospital forced her to retire when she reached 70 (according to their books at least but in reality she was well over 80 years already). She wasn't the retiring type and boredom drove her to take up performing again. So well into her eighties, she took up performing again and recorded her best music ever.
I'll leave you with a song from this period in her life, "Two-fisted, Double-Jointed, Rough and Ready Man"
[deleted]
Oh that is brilliant! She's epic!
Jack-Flash-Jr
Super cool...
singemonkey
What a super-hero. I admire people like this so much - who can get out to the edge of their lives and can still say something about it.
Thanked.
AlanRatcliffe
Anyone catch the Uppity Blues Women when they were here a few years ago. The two original members are well into their 60s and are still singing songs like Middle-aged Blues (I Need a Young Man), There's Lightning in These Thunder Thighs, Too Much Butt (For One Pair of Jeans) and Silver Beaver. ?
Bob-Dubery
Gee I dunno. There's no reason why musicians shouldn't have fun once their hair has turned grey. In fact I've seen a lot of that the last few years.
Thinking back to the Meltdown Festival in London that I saw some of last year, the participants included
Beverly "Guitar" Watkins (another blues-playing lady you might want to check out) who was born "circa" 1940 and was thus about 70 at the time
Danny Thompson - 71 at the time
Richard Thompson - a mere 61
James Burton - 71
Nokie Edwards - 66
Bettye LaVette (astonishing soul singer) - 65
Norma Waterson - 71
Loudon Wainwright III - 64 at the time
Harry Shearer - 67
Qualifying for a bus pass is no reason to hang up your axe. And these guys weren't resting on their laurels, milking nostaliga and phoning it in either. They gave it the beans.
