Harold Joseph Singer (October 8, 1919 – August 18, 2020), also known as Hal "Cornbread" Singer, was an American R&B and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

bandleader and saxophonist.

Early life

Harold Joseph Singer was born in Greenwood, an African American district of

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

to father Charles and mother Anna Mae. His father was employed by an oil drilling tools manufacturer and his mother was a caterer. He was a survivor of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre during which his family's home was burnt down. Singer and his mother were helped to travel to Kansas City during the riot by his mother's white employer. There they waited out the violence with family until they could return. The official records of Singer's birth were destroyed during the violence. Singer studied violin as a child but later switched to reed instruments. He ultimately settled on the tenor saxophone influenced by hearing

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

. On the advice of his father to pursue a "proper" career, Singer attended the Hampton Institute and graduated in 1939 with a degree in agriculture. While studying, Singer regularly took time off to tour with local bands.

Career

From the late 1930s Singer began performing in local bands, including

Ernie Fields Ernest Lawrence Fields (August 28, 1904 – May 11, 1997)Laprarie, Michael Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' (accessed May 14, 2010). was an American trombonist, pianist, arranger and bandleader. He first became known for leading ...

', before joining

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and ...

's orchestra in 1943 and then moving to New York. After working in other bands, he joined Oran "Hot Lips" Page's band in 1947 and began working as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

with King Records. In early 1948, he left Page, formed his own small group, and was signed to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

where he cut his first single "Fine As Wine" with a B side "Rock Around the Clock" (not the same tune as the

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

recording), co-written with

Sam Theard Samuel F. Theard (October 10, 1904 – December 7, 1982) was an American singer, songwriter, actor and comedian. He performed under the names Lovin' Sam F. Theard, Spo-Dee-O-Dee and others. Biography Theard was born in New Orleans, Louisia ...

.Fuchs, Otto (2011) ''Bill Haley: Father of Rock 'n' Roll'', p. 118. Wagner Verlag
at Google Books. Retrieved May 7, 2013. For the

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. ...

label, he recorded the instrumental "Corn Bread", which made No. 1 on the R&B charts in September 1948, and raised Singer's profile and his nickname. His follow-up the following year, "Beef Stew", was a much smaller hit. In the early and mid-1950s, he recorded with Mercury, toured with R&B artists such as The Orioles and Charles Brown, and increasingly worked as a session musician. In 1958, he began recording with

Prestige Records Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musi ...

as a jazz soloist and performing at the Metropole Cafe in New York with jazz musicians such as

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

and

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

. In 1965, after touring Europe with Earl Hines' group, Singer remained in France, settling near Paris. He continued to record and also toured extensively around Europe and Africa, performing with the

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 ba ...

Orchestra and

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an ...

Later

Singer appears on the 1981 live recording ''

Rocket 88 "Rocket 88" (originally stylized as Rocket "88") is a song that was first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, in March 1951. The recording was credited to " Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", who were actually Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm. Th ...

'' with the UK-based

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 pia ...

band

. Also in the summer of 1981, Singer visited London, where he recorded two albums for John Stedman's record label, JSP. The first album, ''Swing on it'' (JSP 1028), was recorded with British musicians, including

Jim Mullen Jim Mullen (born 26 November 1945) is a Scottish, Glasgow-born jazz guitarist with a distinctive style, like Wes Montgomery before him, picking with the thumb rather than a plectrum. Biography Jim Mullen was guitarist with Pete Brown & Piblo ...

, Peter King, Mike Carr and Harold Smith, while the second, recorded a day later with the same group, also featured

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

(" Big Blues", JSP 1032). Singer shared artist billing on a recording made in 1989, along with Al Copley, "Royal Blue", released on the Black Top label in 1990.

Acting

He appeared as an actor in the feature film ''

Taxi Blues ''Taxi Blues'' (russian: Такси-блюз, translit. Taksi-Blyuz) is a 1990 Soviet drama film directed by Pavel Lungin. It was entered into the 1990 Cannes Film Festival where Lungin won the award for Best Director. The film was selec ...

'' (1990).

Honors, awards, distinctions

Singer's 1969 album, ''Paris Soul Food'', featuring him on saxophone and vocals; Robin Hemingway, vocals, arrangements and album production; and Manu Dibango, saxophone, organ and arrangements won a French Record Academy award for best international LP. In 1974, he went on a State Department tour of Africa with

Horace Parlan Horace Parlan (January 19, 1931 – February 23, 2017) was an American pianist and composer known for working in the hard bop and post-bop styles of jazz. In addition to his work as a bandleader Parlan was known for his contributions to the Cha ...

.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' Oxford University Press US, 2007
, 9780195320008 at Google Books Singer was awarded the prestigious title of " Chevalier des Arts" by the French government.

Legacy

A documentary film, ''Hal Singer, Keep the Music Going'' (1999) was directed by Guetty Felin. It was made in collaboration with the

CNC Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a pie ...

in France and the French cable music network Muzzik. The documentary wove into the narrative Singer's personal super-8 movies, archival images of the jazz era, and footage of Singer's home in Paris, in concert and teaching jazz to the younger generation of musicians in France. Spoken word poet Jessica Care Moore is featured in a duet with Singer.

Personal life

Singer became a

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

on 8 October 2019. He died on August 18, 2020. "Décès du saxophoniste américain Hal Singer à 100 ans", ''Le Quotidien'', 20 August 2020
Retrieved 20 August 2020

Discography

* 1948 "Fine As Wine" & "Rock Around the Clock" ( Mercury) * 1948 "Corn Bread" – as leader * 1949 "Beef Stew" – as leader * 1959 '' Blue Stompin''' – Hal Singer and the Charlie Shavers Quintet ( Prestige) * 1960 ''

Blues by Lonnie Johnson ''Blues by Lonnie Johnson'' is an album by blues musician Lonnie Johnson, recorded in 1960 and released on the Bluesville label.Lonnie Johnson Quintet (Bluesville) * 1963 ''Blues in the Night'' – as leader (Fidelio) * 1968 ''A Funky Day in Paris'' – Johnny Letman ( Black & Blue) * 1968 ''Milt and Hal'' –

Milt Buckner Milton Brent Buckner (July 10, 1915 – July 27, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and organist, who in the early 1950s popularized the Hammond organ.Arwulf ArwulfMilt Buckner biography All Music. He pioneered the parallel chords style Feath ...

(Black & Blue) * 1969 ''Paris Soul Food'' – as leader (

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

) * 1969 '' Kidney Stew is Fine'' −

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair ...

(Delmark) * 1971 ''Blues and News'' – as leader ( Marge) * 1973 '' Grey's Mood'' –

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Car ...

(Black & Blue) * 1975 ''Soul of Africa'' – as leader (

Le Chant du Monde Le Chant du Monde is a French music publishing house. It was created in 1938 by Léon Moussinac and was supported in the beginning by classical composers Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Charles Koechlin, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Albert ...

) * 1977 ''Le Grand Voyage / The Long Trip'' – as leader (Pastoral) * 1981 ''

'' –

* 1981 '' Swing on it'' – as leader (JSP) * 1990 ''Royal Blue'' – as co-lead with Al Copley – (Black Top) * 2010 ''Challenge'' – as co-lead with David Murray – ( Marge)

References

External links

More information

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Hal 1919 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma African-American saxophonists American jazz bandleaders American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Black Top Records artists Savoy Records artists Prestige Records artists 21st-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Oklahoma 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Black & Blue Records artists African-American centenarians American centenarians Men centenarians Tulsa race massacre 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century American saxophonists