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Freddie Hart

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Freddie Hart
Freddie Hart in 1966
Freddie Hart in 1966
Background information
Birth nameFrederick Segrest
Born (1926-12-21) December 21, 1926 (age 97)
OriginLoachapoka, Alabama
Genrescountry, gospel
OccupationSinger-songwriter
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1953–present
Websitewww.mreasylovin.com

Frederick Segrest (born December 21, 1926), known professionally as Freddie Hart, is an American country musician and songwriter best known for his No. 1 hit "Easy Loving," which won the Country Music Association Song of the Year award in 1971 and 1972.[1]

Hart charted singles from 1953–1987, and later became a gospel singer. He continues to perform at music festivals and other venues.

Biography

Childhood and military service

Hart was born to a sharecropper family in Loachapoka, Alabama in 1926[2] and spent his childhood in nearby Phenix City, Alabama along with his 11 siblings (Nadine, Bo, Junior, Olin, Morrell, Pearl, Lonnie, Sandra, Gail, ,J.P., Harold, and a child who died at infancy).. He learned to play guitar at age 5 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. Following the war, Hart lived in California where he taught classes in self-defense at the Los Angeles Police Academy.[2]

Early career

Hart got an early career break when singer Carl Smith covered Hart's song "Loose Talk" in 1955. Other artists who recorded his songs included Patsy Cline ("Lovin' In Vain"), George Jones ("My Tears are Overdue") and Porter Wagoner ("Skid Row Joe").

During the early 1950s, Hart and his family moved to California to further the growing country music scene there. In 1951, he joined Lefty Frizzell's band for a year. It was through Frizzell that Hart got his first recording contract with Capitol Records in 1953. He released several singles including his version of "Loose Talk", but none of these were successful. In 1958, Hart signed with Columbia Records and scored his first chart hit with "The Wall" in 1959 which made the Top 20. His biggest hit for the label was the 1960 Top 20 hit "The Key's In The Mailbox".

In 1965, Hart signed with Kapp Records where he would score several Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1968. The biggest of these hits included "Hank Williams' Guitar" (1965), "Born A Fool" (1968) and "Togetherness" (1968).

Re-signing with Capitol Records and Easy Loving

In 1969, Hart re-signed with Capitol Records and soon became a part of the Bakersfield sound by signing up with Buck Owens' songwriting and management company. In early 1970, he scored a Top 30 hit with "The Whole World's Holdin' Hands". Hart's song "Togetherness", a hit for him in 1968, became a Top 15 hit for Buck Owens and Susan Raye that summer. Hart would score several minor hits during the year.

In 1971, Hart released a song that he wrote called "Easy Loving" which was first recorded in the summer of 1969 for his album California Grapevine, released in 1970. Released in the summer of 1971, "Easy Loving" rapidly began climbing the charts; and by that September, it was No. 1 for three weeks on the country charts and reached No. 17 on the pop charts. It was also played on adult contemporary stations, earning a position on Billboard's Easy Listening survey. The song would ultimately win Hart numerous awards from both the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association. The song sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold record by the R.I.A.A. in November 1971.[3] The album of the same name also reportedly went gold. The song also won a Grammy Award for Hart.

From this success, Hart and his backup band, the Heartbeats, had a string of Top 5 hits with "My Hang-Up Is You" (six weeks at No. 1 in 1972), "Bless Your Heart" (No. 1 in 1972), "Got the All Overs For You (All Over Me)" (No. 1 in 1972), "If You Can't Feel It (It Ain't There)" (1973), "Super Kind of Woman" (No. 1 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). He has been called by many fans as "The Heart and Soul of Country Music". [citation needed]

With the success of "Easy Loving" and other songs he wrote, plus a popular concert attraction on the road, Hart became independently wealthy and owned a songwriting company, a school for the blind, a trucking company, and a chain of martial arts studios—his hobby was as a master of karate.

Late 1970s–80s

By 1976, Hart continued to have major hits although now his streak of Top 10s were replaced by a streak of Top 20 and Top 30 hits. These included "You Are The Song Inside Of Me" (1976), "That Look In Her Eyes" (1976), "Thank God She's Mine" (1977), "The Pleasure's Been All Mine" (1977), "Toe to Toe" (1978), and "Wasn't It Easy Baby" (1979). His last Top 10 hit came with the hit "Why Lovers Turn to Strangers" in 1977, which peaked at No. 8. This song was written by east Idaho based composer Bobby Fender.

In 1980, Hart signed with Sunbird Records, and immediately scored a Top 20 hit with "Sure Thing" that year. He followed this up with 3 Top 40 hits in 1981. This ended his days as a major country artist. In 1985 and 1987, he had a couple of minor hits on El Dorado and 5th Avenue Records, with his last hit being "The Best Love I Ever Had" in 1987 peaking at No. 77.

2000s–present

In 2001, Hart was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.[citation needed] 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 CD, 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 retains a large following in Europe and the U.S., where he continues to perform at music festivals, universities, churches and industry events.

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" 1 1 Easy Loving
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.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Ceremony Award Won / Nominated
1971 Country Music Association Song of the Year - "Easy Loving" Won
1971 Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year Nominated
1971 Country Music Association Album of the Year - Easy Loving Nominated
1971 Country Music Association Single of the Year - "Easy Loving" Nominated
1971 Academy of Country Music Song of the Year - "Easy Loving" Won
1971 Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist of the Year Won
1972 Grammy Best Country Male Vocalist - "Easy Loving" Won
1972 Country Music Association Song of the Year: "Easy Loving" Won
1972 Academy of Country Music Album of the Year - Easy Loving Nominated
1972 Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist of the Year Nominated
1972 Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year Nominated
1973 Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist of the Year Nominated
1974 Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist of the Year Nominated
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Freddie Hart.

References

  1. ^ CMA Awards Database - Freddie Hart, cmaawards.com; retrieved July 25, 2008
  2. ^ a b Alabama Music Hall of Fame Biography, alamhof.org; retrieved September 18, 2008 Cite error: The named reference "AlamHOF" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 294. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
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