From: flippar1954 Date: Sun Dec 21, 2003 7:34pm Subject: FREDDIE HART FREDDIE HART Born Fred Segrest on December 21st 1926, in Lochapoka, Alabama. Freddie was one of 15 children born to a sharecropper. When he was five years old, his grandfather fashioned him a makeshift guitar out of a cigar box and wire from a Model T. He ran away from home at age seven, and was sent to a Civilian Conservation Corps camp at 12. When Hart was 16, he enlisted in the Marines by lying about his age, and served in Iwo Jima and Okinawa; during his off hours, he performed country music in officers' clubs. After his discharge, he worked odd jobs in various locations, and wound up moving to Nashville in 1949 to be a roadie for Hank Williams He cut a single later that year, the George Morgan penned Every Little Thing Rolled into One, and worked on his songwriting, with hints from Williams. He moved to Phoenix in 1950 to work at a cotton mill, but wound up meeting Lefty Frizzell there; he offered Frizzell one of his songs, but instead was signed up as Frizzell 's tourmate. He recorded for Capitol without commercial success, and left Frizzell 's show in 1953 to move to Los Angeles. There he made regular appearances on Town Hall Party, and also earned his black belt in karate, which enabled him to become an instructor at the Los Angeles Police Academy (so nobody giggled at his badge reading F Hart). Hart also continued to write songs, and in 1955 Carl Smith took his co-composition Loose Talk to the top of the country charts. With success to his name, Hart finally landed another record deal with Columbia and had minor hits with The Wall and Chain Gang. To us SAOers his claim to fame lies with the mega cool Columbia rockabilly sides which appeared in the golden rockabilly revival 70s reissue albums compiled by Stu Colman and others, the CBS/Columbia series. Check out the awesome Dig Boy Dig and Snatch It And Grab It from 1956. The nudie suited countrypolitan singer who had a cross over hit with Easy Lovin' in 71 ( CMA's song of the year)and appeared on UK tv was a million miles from the character who cut these rompers. He made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 1961, but didn't chart again until 1965, when Hank Williams' Guitar narrowly missed the country Top 20. He released several albums on Kapp during the late '60s, and returned to Capitol in 1970, landing a moderate hit with The Whole World Holding Hands. By this point, Hart had refashioned himself as more of a country-pop singer with a slightly risqué (at least, for the genre and the time) take on romance. The move paid huge dividends when his 1971 single Easy Loving came out of nowhere to top the country charts (it also crossed over to the pop Top 20). The album of the same name also hit number one country, and Hart followed it with three more number one singles in 1972 - two more in 1973, also hit number one, Hart more top 10s during 74 and 75 But suddenly, the hits dried up, and after a last album in 1977, Hart and Capitol parted ways. He played the UK Wembley festival but his cloying stage act didnt go down well. He recorded for a succession of smaller labels during the '80s, and charted several more singles over 1980-1982, with the Top 20 ,Sure Thing being the biggest. He also wrote Skid Row Joe for Porter Waggoner and I Ain't Hungry Anymore for Charlie Rich, miles better than the pap he wrote for himself like The Child (where he plays a baby in its mother's womb!!) He invested his money well and is a wealthy man, he has acres of plum trees, a trucking business , has over 200 breeding bulls and runs a handicapped school in Burbank. He plays Branson now and again and has recorded gospel. Bet his stage act doesn't include Dig Boy Dig though!! Thanks to AMG Phil Davies Recommended listening Columbia Rockabilly volume 2 -mid price VA compilation on ACE (previously Whistle bait in the US) has Dig Boy Dig and Snatch It and Grab It Web Site the superb RCS site http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/h/hart2400.htm