Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Hall's long career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death and she was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Hall entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2003 as the world's most enduring recording artist having released material over eight consecutive decades.
Adelaide Louise Hall was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her family moved across the East River to Harlem, and it was here, among the rich and fertile renaissance of black culture in the 1920s, that Adelaide nurtured her dreams of becoming a star. Her first stage role was in 1921 in the chorus line of the all-black Broadway musical "Shuffle Along", which gave her a taste of the limelight. The show ran for 504 performances and then went on tour.Her next stint on stage came in 1923, when she was featured in the all-black Broadway musical "Runnin' Wild." Of her performance, Variety wrote, " . . . picked from the chorus is Adelaide Hall, who can be termed a real find. She jazzes a number as Paul Whiteman would have it done, and her singing of 'Old Fashinoed Love' is a knockout." The show ran for 213 performances and then went on
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tour. In 1925 she toured Europe as lead in "The Chocolate Kiddies Revue". She introduced Europe to the Charleston dance and performed it to Duke Ellington's "Jig Walk" (the fact is that she was a sensation in Europe before the better known Josephine Baker--who always gets credited for introducing Europe to the Charleston--did.
In 1927 she recorded "Creole Love Call" on a record, backed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The record caused a furore after its release because of its blatantly sexual overtones, but it went on to sell millions of copies and is still selling. It is widely regarded as
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among the most famous and important jazz recordings ever made. It introduced "scat singing" to the general public, and catapulted Adelaide and Ellington to international stardom.
among the most famous and important jazz recordings ever made. It introduced "scat singing" to the general public, and catapulted Adelaide and Ellington to international stardom.
In 1928 she starred (with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson) in Blackbirds of 1928. It was this revue that made her name, both in the U.S. and in Europe when the show was taken to Paris. Her performances in it included the songs "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby", "Diga Diga Doo", and "I Must Have That Man", which continued to be audience favourites throughout her career.
She married a British sailor, Bert Hicks, and he started a nightclub in Paris, France (La Grosse Pomme) for her. After many years performing in the U.S. and Europe, Hall went to the United Kingdom in 1938 in order to take a starring role in a musical version of Edgar Wallace's The Sun Never Sets at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She was so successful, and became so popular with British audiences, that she stayed, becoming one of the most popular singers and entertainers of the time. She lived in London from 1938 until her death.
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Hall's career was an almost uninterrupted success. She made over seventy records for Decca, had her own radio series (the first black artist to have a long-term contract with the BBC), and appeared on the stage, in films, and in nightclubs (of which she owned her own, in London and Paris). In the 1940s, and especially during World War II, she was hugely popular with both civilian and ENSA audiences, and became one of the highest paid entertainers in the country (despite the destruction in an air raid of the London nightclub owned by her and her husband, the Florida Club).
During an extremely long career (since 1991 she has held the world record as the most enduring recording artist), Hall has performed with major artists such as Ethel Waters, Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, and Jools Holland, and has recorded as a jazz singer with Duke Ellington (with whom she made her most famous recording, "Creole Love Call" in 1927), Fats Waller, and Art Tatum. She appeared in the London run of Kiss Me, Kate, starred with Lena Horne in Jamaica on Broadway in 1957, and made two jazz recording with Humphrey Lyttelton in 1969–1970. This was followed by theatre tours and concert appearances.
Without knowing it, just about everybody singing jazz today is influenced by Adelaide, for she helped create the whole genre, although perhaps her only direct successor would be someone like Lena Horne (and they did perform together) or today maybe somebody like Diana Ross. Adelaide Hall was of the gracious side of jazz, but she was an original. You can’t say she sounds like anyone else. Even her phrasing swings in a different way to many later singers, but it swings nevertheless.(info mainly Wikipedia)
(Compiled and edited mainly from Wikipedia & IMDb)