Lurlean Hunter (December 1, 1919 - March 11, 1983) was with all her skills, one of the most underappreciated singers in America. Other singers, who held her in universal high regard, were in no doubt as to her quality. A singers singer, she was revered for her near perfection in vocal styling, technique, and delivery, gifts she blended into a captivating combination.
Lurlean Hunter's family came to Chicago in 1920 with the migration of African American families. There she attended Englewood High School and had first appearances in 1938 with Johnny Long's swing band in South Bend (Indiana) . After her graduation in early 1939, she appeared in 1941 with the band of Les Hite in the Parkway Ballroom and through radio broadcasts of the concerts she received nationwide attention. In 1944 she was spotted by Red Saunders who brought her to Club DeLisa on Chicago’s south side, where Marion "Blues Woman" Abernathy and Little Miss Cornshucks sang. Through her appearances at Club DeLisa, she became well known in the Chicago area. In 1945 she had guest appearances in the nightclub Stairway to the Stars (422 1/2 East 47th), where she was accompanied by the Floyd Campbell Orchestra. 
In 1951 she recorded two more singles for the small label Major Records, "Imagination" and the standard "If I Should Lose You". Also during that same year Hunter was a featured performer with George Shearing and his quintet at Birdland in New York City after which she was among a group of "rising young stars of jazz" presented at the Streamliner night club in Chicago. Other Chicago venues at which she performed included the Club Silhouette and the Cloister Inn, where an initial four-week booking turned into a 2.5-year stay Her work in other cities included singing at the Jazz Villa in St. Louis, the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, and the Circus Lounge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
In 1958, Hunter sued RCA Record Division after it used her image and her name on the cover of its "Lonesome Gal" record album. The suit in United States District Court, Southern District of California, alleged "unfair competition, infringement of trade name,
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unfair business practices, unjust enrichment and invasion of the right of privacy." The court acknowledged that the album contained the song "Lonesome Gal", and that the use of one song's title for an album's title was common practice in the recording industry. However, it ruled in Hunter's favour on the basis that she was the first person to "adopt and establish the name Lonesome Gal as a personality" and that name was exclusively associated with her. Damages of $22,500 were awarded to Hunter, and the company was ordered to destroy all material containing Hunter's likeness in conjunction with "Lonesome Gal"
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| L-R: Johnny Frigo, singer Lurlean Hunter and saxophonist, Johnny Griffin (saxophone) on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Chicago Avenue |
In 1972 she left the music business to marry her manager Greg Tischler and live as a housewife. She died tragically 11 March 1983 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Details of her death are murky. Some report of her being murdered by an ex mobster boyfriend, but that and many other versions have not been completely confirmed. (Edited mainly from Wikipedia)