Freddie Hart

Frederick Segrest Loachapoka Alabama December 21 1926 – October 27 2018 Known Professionally As Freddie Hart Was An American Country Musician And Songwriter Best Known For His Chart-Topping Country Song And Lone Pop Hit "Easy Loving " Which Won The Country Music Association Song Of The Year Award In 1971 And 1972. Hart Charted Singles From 1953 To 1987 And Later Became A Gospel Singer. He Performed At Music Festivals And Other Venues Until He Died. Hart Was Born To A Sharecropper Family In Loachapoka Alabama In 1926 And Spent His Childhood In Nearby Phenix City Alabama Along With His 11 Siblings Nadine Bo Junior Olin Marrell Pearl Lonnie Sandra Gail J.P. Harold And A Child Who Died In Infancy . He Learned To Play Guitar At Age 5 And Quit School By Age 12. At Age 15 Hart Lied About His Age To Join The U.S. Marine Corps During World War II Seeing Combat Action On Guam And Iwo Jima. Following The War Hart Lived In California Where He Taught Classes In Self-Defense At The Los Angeles Police Academy. Hart Got An Early Career Break When Singer Carl Smith Covered Hart's Song "Loose Talk" In 1955. Other Artists Who Recorded His Songs Included Patsy Cline "Lovin' In Vain" George Jones "My Tears Are Overdue" And Porter Wagoner "Skid Row Joe" . During The Early 1950s Hart And His Family Moved To California To Further The Growing Country Music Scene There. In 1951 He Joined Lefty Frizzell's Band For A Year. It Was Through Frizzell That Hart Got His First Recording Contract With Capitol Records In 1953. He Released Several Singles Including His Version Of "Loose Talk" But None Of These Were Successful. In 1958 Hart Signed With Columbia Records And Scored His First Chart Hit With "The Wall" In 1959 Which Made The Top 20. His Biggest Hit For The Label Was The 1960 Top 20 Hit "The Key's In The Mailbox". In 1965 Hart Signed With Kapp Records Where He Would Score Several Top 40 Hits Between 1965 And 1968. The Biggest Of These Hits Included "Hank Williams' Guitar" 1965 "Born A Fool" 1968 And "Togetherness" 1968 . In 1969 Hart Re-Signed With Capitol Records And Soon Became A Part Of The Bakersfield Sound By Signing Up With Buck Owens' Songwriting And Management Company. In Early 1970 He Scored A Top 30 Hit With "The Whole World's Holdin' Hands". Hart's Song "Togetherness" A Hit For Him In 1968 Became A Top 15 Hit For Buck Owens And Susan Raye That Summer. Hart Would Score Several Minor Hits During The Year. In 1971 Hart Released A Song That He Wrote Called "Easy Loving" Which Was First Recorded In The Summer Of 1969 For His Album California Grapevine Released In 1970. Released In The Summer Of 1971 "Easy Loving" Rapidly Began Climbing The Charts And By That September It Was No. 1 For Three Weeks On The Country Charts And Reached No. 17 On The Pop Charts. It Was Also Played On Adult Contemporary Stations Earning A Position On Billboard's Easy Listening Survey. The Song Would Ultimately Win Hart Numerous Awards From Both The Academy Of Country Music And Country Music Association. The Song Sold Over One Million Copies And Was Awarded A Gold Record By The R.I.A.A. In November 1971. The Album Of The Same Name Also Reportedly Went Gold. The Song Also Won A Grammy Award For Hart. From This Success Hart And His Backup Band The Heartbeats Had A String Of Top 5 Hits With "My Hang-Up Is You" Six Weeks At No. 1 In 1972 "Bless Your Heart" No. 1 In 1972 "Got The All Overs For You All Over Me " No. 1 In 1972 "If You Can't Feel It It Ain't There " 1973 "Super Kind Of Woman" No. 1 In 1973 "Trip To Heaven" No. 1 In 1973 "Hang In There Girl" 1974 "The Want-To's" 1974 "My Woman's Man" 1975 "The First Time" 1975 "I'd Like To Sleep Till I Get Over You" 1975 And "The Warm Side Of You" 1975 . He Has Been Called By Many Fans As "The Heart And Soul Of Country Music". Citation Needed With The Success Of "Easy Loving" And Other Songs He Wrote Plus A Popular Concert Attraction On The Road Hart Became Independently Wealthy And Owned A Songwriting Company A School For The Blind A Trucking Company And A Chain Of Martial Arts Studios—his Hobby Was As A Master Of Karate. By 1976 Hart Continued To Have Major Hits Although Now His Streak Of Top 10s Were Replaced By A Streak Of Top 20 And Top 30 Hits. These Included "You Are The Song Inside Of Me" 1976 "That Look In Her Eyes" 1976 "Thank God She's Mine" 1977 "The Pleasure's Been All Mine" 1977 "Toe To Toe" 1978 And "Wasn't It Easy Baby" 1979 . His Last Top 10 Hit Came With The Hit "Why Lovers Turn To Strangers" In 1977 Which Peaked At No. 8. This Song Was Written By East Idaho Based Composer Bobby Fender. In 1980 Hart Signed With Sunbird Records And Immediately Scored A Top 20 Hit With "Sure Thing" That Year. He Followed This Up With 3 Top 40 Hits In 1981. This Ended His Days As A Major Country Artist. In 1985 And 1987 He Had A Couple Of Minor Hits On El Dorado And 5th Avenue Records With His Last Hit Being "The Best Love I Never Had" In 1987 Peaking At No. 77. In 2001 Hart Was Inducted Into The Alabama Music Hall Of Fame 4 A Few Years Later Phenix City Declared A Major East-West Street Freddie Hart Parkway In His Honor. Hart Released A Handful Of New Albums On CD Showcasing His Passion For Gospel Music Patriotism And The Traditional Country Sound That Originally Made Him Famous. These Albums Prompted Him To Selectively Tour And Perform Concerts Around The World. Hart Retains A Large Following In Europe And The U.S. Where He Continued To Perform At Music Festivals Universities Churches And Industry Events. Hart Continued To Write And Record Gospel Music During The 2000's. He Received Numerous Awards And Had Several Number One Songs In The Gospel Field. In 2004 He Was Inducted Into The Nashville Songwriter's Hall Of Fame. In 2017 He Performed In Pigeon Forge Tennessee And Received The Hall Of Fame Award From The North American Country Music Associations International. In March Of 2018 He Performed For The Last Time On The Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree As A Special Guest To David Frizzell. Hart Sang A New Song He Had Written And Just Recorded About Lefty Frizzell Titled Simply "Lefty". In April 2018 Hart Recorded His Final Album Titled "God Bless You". The Project Produced By David Frizzell Contains 11 Newly Written Gospel Songs And A Remake Of His Signature Song "Easy Loving". The Album Is Set To Be Released In Late 2018. Hart Died As A Result Of Pneumonia On October 27 2018 In Burbank California. read less