|
Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZHARTMAN, Johnny(b 3 July '23, Chicago; d 15 Sep. '83, NYC) Singer. Sang and played piano from age eight; scholarship to study voice '39; sang with Earl Hines, then Dizzy Gillespie '47--9, went solo. His beautiful dark baritone was infl. by Billy Eckstine and Frank Sinatra; TV work with Sammy Davis, Tonight, Today shows; toured the world; Newport Jazz Festival '75; recorded with John Coltrane on Impulse. Own LPs incl. First, Lasting And Always on Savoy ('47 material), All Of Me and Songs From The Heart on Bethlehem, I Just Dropped By To Say Hello, The Voice That Is and Unforgettable '65 on Impulse (also John Coltrane's With Johnny Hartman); For Trane now on Blue Note was made in Japan '72. Last albums '80: This One's For Teddi with Tony Monte Quartet on Audiophile and Once In Every Life on Chicago's Bee Hive label, with Billy Taylor, Joe Wilder, Keith Copeland, Frank Wess, Al Gafa. His voice deserved more fame; then Clint Eastwood used it in the soundtrack of The Bridges Of Madison County '95 and his albums were being reissued. The Many Moods Of Johnny Hartman '76 on USA was an untypical shot at pop fame: he sang as well as possible on songs described by Jerome Wilson in Cadence as 'every bad '70s musical clich, you can think of: wah wah guitar, fake inspirational goop ... and even disco'. |