Ivory Joe Hunter (October 10, 1914 – November 8, 1974)
was an American
rhythm-and-blues singer, songwriter, and pianist. After a series of hits on the US
R&B chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
starting in the mid-1940s, he became more widely known for his hit recording "
Since I Met You Baby" (1956). He was billed as The Baron of the Boogie, and also known as The Happiest Man Alive. His musical output ranged from R&B to
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
,
boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...
, and
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
, and Hunter made a name in all of those genres. Uniquely, he was honored at both the
Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...
and the
Grand Ole Opry
The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a div ...
.
Early years
Hunter was born in
Kirbyville, Texas. Ivory Joe was his given name, not a nickname nor a stage name.
According to Hunter, when he was born his parents thought he "looked just like the baby on the outside of the Castoria Ivory bottle, so they called
imIvory."
As a youngster in a large family of musicians, he developed an early interest in music. His father, Dave Hunter, played guitar, and his mother sang gospel. Hunter was a talented pianist by the age of 13, playing in school orchestras.
He graduated high school in 1930 and made his first recording for
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, s ...
and the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
as a teenager, in 1933.
Hunter was the uncle of Rick Stevens, the original lead vocalist for
Tower of Power
Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted th ...
.
Radio and recordings
In the early 1940s, Hunter had his own
radio show
A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.
Radio netwo ...
in
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the seat of government of Jefferson County, within the Beaumont– Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston ( ...
, on
KFDM, for which he eventually became program manager. In 1942 he moved to Los Angeles, joining
Johnny Moore's Three Blazers
Johnny Moore's Three Blazers was a popular American vocal group in the 1940s and 1950s.
The original members were:
*Johnny Moore (John Dudley Moore, October 20, 1906, Austin, Texas – January 6, 1969, Los Angeles, California);
* Charles ...
in the mid-1940s.
He wrote and recorded his first song, "Blues at Sunrise", with the Three Blazers for his own label, Ivory Records, it became a nationwide hit on the R&B chart in 1945.
In the late 1940s, Hunter founded Pacific Records.
In 1947, he recorded for
Four Star Records and
King Records. Two years later, he recorded further
R&B hits; on "I Quit My Pretty Mama" and "Guess Who" he was backed by members of
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...
's band.
After signing with
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...
, he recorded "
I Almost Lost My Mind
"I Almost Lost My Mind" is a popular song written by Ivory Joe Hunter and published in 1950. Hunter's recording of the song was a number one hit on the US ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart in that year.
Hunter recorded the 12-bar blues style song ...
",
which topped the 1950 R&B charts and would later (in the wake of Hunter's success with "Since I Met You Baby") be
recorded by
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...
, whose version became a number one pop hit.
"
I Need You So" was a number two R&B hit that same year. With his smooth delivery, Hunter became a popular R&B artist, and he also began to be noticed in the
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
community. In April 1951, he made his
network TV
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid-1 ...
debut on ''
You Asked for It''. He toured widely with a backing band and became known for his large build (he was 6 feet 4 inches tall), his brightly colored stage suits, and his volatile temperament.
By 1954, he had recorded more than 100 songs and moved to
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...
. His first song to cross over to the pop charts was "Since I Met You Baby" (1956). It was to be his only
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...
pop song, reaching number 12 on the pop chart.
While visiting
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...
, in the spring of 1957, Hunter was invited by
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
to visit
Graceland. The two spent the day together, singing "I Almost Lost My Mind" and other songs together. Hunter commented, "He is very spiritually minded... he showed me every courtesy, and I think he's one of the greatest." Presley recorded several of his songs, including "I Need You So", "My Wish Came True" and "
Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby :Not to be confused with '' Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby (Jimmy Reed song)''
"Ain't That Loving You, Baby" is a song written by Clyde Otis and Ivory Joe Hunter and originally recorded by Eddie Riff in 1956. Elvis Presley recorded the song in 1958 ...
".
Later, Presley would record "
I Will Be True" and "
It's Still Here" in May 1971. Hunter was a prolific songwriter, and some estimate he wrote more than 7,000 songs.
Country comeback
Hunter's "Empty Arms" and "Yes I Want You" also made the pop charts, and he had a minor hit with "City Lights" in 1959, just before his popularity began to decline. Hunter came back as a country singer in the late 1960s, making regular
Grand Ole Opry
The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a div ...
appearances and recording an album titled ''I've Always Been Country''.
The country singer
Sonny James issued a version of "Since I Met You Baby", which topped the country charts in 1969, paving the way for Hunter's album ''The Return of Ivory Joe Hunter'' and his appearance at the
Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...
. The album was recorded in Memphis with a band that included
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songw ...
,
Gene "Bowlegs" Miller Gene "Bowlegs" Miller (May 27, 1933 – December 25, 1987) was an American trumpeter and band leader.
Biography
Miller performed in clubs on Beale Street, in Memphis, Tennessee, when that area was a flourishing center of nightlife, playing with suc ...
and
Charles Chalmers.
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...
recorded a cover version of the song in 1969.
Death
Hunter died of complications due to lung cancer in 1974, at the age of 60, in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...
.
His remains were buried in Spring Hill Community Cemetery.
Singles
Albums
* ''Ivory Joe Hunter'', Atlantic (1957)
* ''Mean Woman Blues'', Pickwick (Grand Prix Series)
References
Notes
* J.C. Marion
''JammUpp'' 23: "Let Me Dream: Ivory Joe Hunter"* Tom Simon
External links
TV debut of Ivory Joe Hunteron ''
You Asked For It''
Ivory Joe performing "S.P. Blues"with brief
Nina Simone leading fragment
Ivory Joe Hunter at Shades Of BlueIvory Joe Hunter, Mean Woman Blues album info*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Ivory Joe
1914 births
1974 deaths
African-American pianists
American blues singers
American country singer-songwriters
American rhythm and blues singers
American blues pianists
American male pianists
Boogie-woogie pianists
Atlantic Records artists
MGM Records artists
Monument Records artists
Deaths from lung cancer in Tennessee
Four Star Records artists
King Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Texas
People from Jasper County, Texas
Smash Records artists
Tear Drop Records artists
Vee-Jay Records artists
West Coast blues musicians
African-American country musicians
20th-century American pianists
Country musicians from Texas
African-American male singer-songwriters
20th-century African-American male singers