Dian Hart was a singer and recording artist who recorded during 60s and early 1970s. In the late 60s, things looked promising for her. ''

Cashbox Magazine ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' once commented that she sounded like a teen version of

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

. She was also a well known attraction on the broadway and supper club circuit who appeared at venues such as the

Palmer House The Palmer House – A Hilton Hotel is a historic hotel in Chicago's Loop area. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Palmer House was the city's first hotel with elevators, ...

in Chicago, the

Fontainebleau Hotel The Fontainebleau Miami Beach (also known as Fontainebleau Hotel) is a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Designed by Morris Lapidus, the luxury hotel opened in 1954. In 2007, the Fontainebleau Hotel was ranked ninety-third in the American Institute ...

in Miami, and New York's Waldorf. She had also worked as an actor.

Personal and family background

Dian Hart was born Dian Erhardt, the daughter Billy and Thelma Erhardt. Her father Billy was a dance teacher who ran the Billy V. Erhardt dance studio in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

and later the Billy Erhardt Dance Studios in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

. Her mother Thelma was an accomplished musician. Her parents met as a result of her mother answering an advert placed by her father. It was for a pianist to accompany him at his in Pittsburgh dance studio. Two years later they were married. Having moved to California, they opened the studio at 15317 Roscoe Blvd in 1967. During her parents career, they appeared as an act on the

Steve Allen Show ''The Steve Allen Show'' was an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC,

with him dancing and her playing the piano.

Career

1950s to 1960s

Her recording history goes back to 1957 or 1958 when at the age of 18, she recorded "I'll Wait" bw "Mama Worries" for RCA. The A side of the single, "I'll Wait" was written by her mother. In 1963, she was appearing at the Mayfair Room at the Executive Inn in Houston. In November 1964, she appeared at Chicago's College Inn of the Sherman House with

Paul Gilbert Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which h ...

. By 1965, she had done a four-month tour of Australia and married a Los Angeles television producer. Also May that year had marked her fourth engagement at the La Fiesta Theater Restaurant in Juarez, appearing with the Rafael Ruiz dance trio. Because of the broadness of her appeal which included younger patrons, she was usually booked as an end of school attraction. However, by this time she had changed her singing style and appearance to a more mature sound and look with her sounding like a cross of Teresa Brewer and Judy Garland. Already having been recognized as a well known singer and rising star, Hart appeared as a model for Ursula du Bois knitting articles in the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'' and '' The Blade'' in July 1966. In 1968 she starred in the Jet Set Revue at Las Vegas's Aladdin Hotel. Later that year, Hart was working in Toronto, and was spotted by Gib Kerr who was also the manager of

Rich Little Richard Caruthers Little (born November 26, 1938) is a Canadian-American Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and voice actor. Sometimes known as the "Man of a Thousand Voices", Little has recorded nine comedy albums and made numerous tel ...

. A year later he had signed her on and had become her personal manager. It was reported in the ''

Valley News The ''Valley News'' (and ''Sunday Valley News'') is a seven-day morning daily newspaper based in Lebanon, New Hampshire, covering the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont, in the United States. Although the newspaper's offices are i ...

'' October 8 edition that she had completed her first recording on the Silver Cloud label. As she had already recorded prior to this with "I'll Wait" bw "Mama Worries" as a teenaged Dian Erhardt in 1958, this recording would have been released as Dian Hart and on the Kerr Label, which was most likely named after her manager Gib Kerr. Ernie Freeman who had produced

Nancy Ames Nancy Ames (born Nancy Hamilton Alfaro on September 30, 1937) is an American folk singer and songwriter. She regularly appeared on the American version of the television series ''That Was the Week That Was''. The TW3 Girl, as she was known, s ...

single, "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" for the Silver Cloud aka SC label also arranged both sides of her single, "Used To" bw "All The Time" on Kerr. Joseph Porter who produced

Lynne Randell Lynne Randell (born Lynne Randall, 14 December 1949 – 8 June 2007) was an English Australian pop singer. For three years in the mid-1960s, she was Australia's most popular female performer and had hits with "Heart" and "Goin' Out of My Head" in ...

's single, "Wasn't It You" bw "Grey Day" for Silver Cloud would later produce her album on

Amaret Records Amaret Records was a record label that operated between 1968 and 1973. Among the artists that had their recordings released on the label were hard rock group Crow, Country singer Judy Lynn and singer Mrs Miller. Background The label was located o ...

. On February 24, 1969 she appeared at the Chateau Laurier.

1970's onwards

In 1971, she was signed to

Kenny Myers Kenny Myers was an executive at Mercury Records during the 1960s. He later became general manager for a subsidiary of Dot Records. He also ran his own record label, Amaret Records. He left the music industry in the mid-1970s for the Regensteiner ...

's label Amaret Records. She recorded her debut album, ''A Girl For All Reasons''. The album which was produced by Joe Porter and engineered by

Bill Schnee William S. Schnee (born July 4, 1947) is an American musician, music producer, and audio engineer. Schnee has been nominated 11 times for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy Award and worked on a multitude of other Grammy nominated an ...

and Matt Hyde. In 1972, her single "What I Don't Know Won't Hurt Me" was released which was one of ''Billboard Magazine's'' recommendations. Her last single for Amaret was the country styled "

Daisy a Day "Daisy a Day" is a song written and performed by Jud Strunk. It was produced by Mike Curb and Don Costa and Costa also was the arranger. It reached #4 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart, #14 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart, and #33 on the U. ...

" written by

Jud Strunk Justin Roderick Strunk Jr. (June 11, 1936 – October 5, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter and comedian. Biography Early years Born in Jamestown, New York, United States, he was raised in Buffalo, New York, where as a small boy his sh ...

backed with "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" written by George Soule and Al Cedarholme. Jerry Styner produced both songs. Her version of the single came out after Jud Strunk's version even though there was a possible rumor that her single was withheld or delayed. In 1981 she appeared on ''

Pop! Goes the Country ''Pop! Goes the Country'' is a weekly half-hour syndicated variety country music television series that originally aired from September 7, 1974 through 1982 for a total of 234 episodes. Originally hosted by Ralph Emery, the series was recorded at ...

'' with

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

and

Corbin/Hanner Corbin/Hanner was an American country music group founded by Bob Corbin and David Hanner. They began as a five-piece band called the Corbin/Hanner Band in 1979. Corbin and Hanner served as lead vocalists and guitarists, with Al Snyder (keyboards), ...

. Around 1983 she played Miss Twiddle in the children's series ''Imagine That! Great Moments and People in History''.

Television

* ''The

Rosey Grier Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932) is an American actor, singer, Protestant minister, and former professional football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective plac ...

Show'' - (1970) * ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 199 ...

'' - Dian Hart sang "9 to 5" - Aired Sunday 9:00 PM Sep 19 on CBS - (1981) * ''Pop! Goes the Country'' - (1981)

Discography

Singles

;Dian Erhardt * "I'll Wait" / "Mama Worries" - RCA Victor 47-7136 - (1958) ;Dian Hart * "Used To" / " All The Time" - Kerr KRS-9006 * "To Love" / "It Only Hurts When They Laugh" - Amaret 45-128 - (1971) * "Johnny One Time" / "If's A Mighty Big Word" - Amaret 45-135 - (1971) * "What I Don't Know Won't Hurt Me" / "To Love" - Amaret AMT 142 - (1972) * "

" / "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" - Amaret AMT 146 (1972)

Albums

* ''A Girl for All Reasons'' - Amaret ST 5010 - (1971)''Billboard'' May 15, 197
page 58, Album Reviews Continued
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Dian 20th-century American singers American actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women