3-CD Box Set · 36-Pages Booklet
Includes detailed personnel, recording dates, photos and memorabilia
Comprehensive liner notes by Gregg Akkerman
Johnny Hartman (1923–1983)—born in Houma, Louisiana, and raised on Chicago’s South Side—is best remembered for his velvety-rich baritone on the landmark John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman album of 1963. Before that, he had already served as a singing soldier during World War II, performing at U.S. Army camps with
drummer Louie Bellson. After his discharge in 1946, he returned to Chicago, won a talent contest at the El Grotto Supper Club, and soon began recording his first singles for Sunbeam Records before joining Earl “Fatha” Hines. The Chicago Defender hailed him as a “singing sensation” and “Chicago’s newest bronze Sinatra.”
By 1949,Hartman’s reputation grew through touring and recording with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band. In the early 1950s, he moved ahead as a soloist, recording substantial bodies of work with Mercury, Apollo, and finally RCA Victor. Along the way, he also laid down some of his finest material for smaller labels including Sunrise, Regent, MGM, Jubilee, and Herald—all originally conceived as singles during the classic era of 78 and 45 rpm records.
Although Regent originally issued only four of Hartman’s recordings as singles, all the titles from those sessions were in fact conceived for release on 78 rpm discs. The complete set remained unissued until 1957, when Savoy (Regent’s new parent company) gathered them for the LP Johnny Hartman Sings...Just You, Just Me.
Across this 3-CD collection, all of Hartman’s singles are presented—together with every recording originally intended for single release, plus live performances and other rarities from the same era. This comprehensive anthology, Johnny Hartman: The Last Balladeer –The Complete Singles, Rarities and Live Recordings, reveals a goldmine of early performances, capturing Hartman at his most expressive during the formative years that would culminate in his celebrated collaboration with John Coltrane.
Tracklist
CD 1
01. Always To-Gether (Evelyn Washington) 2:42
02. The Songs you Sing (Hill-Young) 2:45
03. Midnight in New Orleans (Hines-Melrose) 2:46
04. When I Dream of You (Hines-Carpenter) 3:08
05. Ain't Misbehavin' (Waller-Razaf-Brooks) 2:48
06. I Need A Shoulder to Cry (Johnson-Dobson) 2:49
07. Ain't Misbehavin' (Waller-Razaf-Brooks) 6:13
08. Why Was I Born? (Kern-Hammerstein II) 2:49
09. Why Was I Born? (Kern-Hammerstein II) Alt. Take 2:49
10. (Why Must I Be) Tormented (Will Hudson) 2:56
11. What's to Become of Me? (Frederick Loewe) 3:06
12. Just Awearyin' For you (Carrie Jacobs-Bond) 2:40
13. I’ll Never Smile Again (Ruth Lowe) 2:49
14. Just You, Just Me (Greer-Klages) 2:33
15. Just You, Just Me (Greer-Klages) alt. take 2:44
16. A Woman Always Understands (Alfred-Fisher) 2:39
17. I Let A Song Go Out of My Heart (Ellington-Nemo-Mills-Redmond) 2:38
18. Sometime Remind Me to Tell You (Greene-Harline) 2:38
19. Sometime Remind Me to Tell You (Greene-Harline) Alt. Take 2:42
20. There Goes My Heart (Silver-Davis) 3:02
21. There Goes My Heart (Silver-Davis) Alt. Take 3:02
22. I Should Care (Weston-Cahn-Stordahl) 5:17
23. S'Posin' (Razaf-Denniker) 3:41
24. But Beautiful (Van Heusen-Burke) 5:12
CD 2
01. They Say It's Wonderful (Irving Berlin) 4:18
02. I Should Care (Weston-Cahn-Stordahl) 3:01
03. That Old Black Magic (Arlen-Mercer) 2:41
04. That Lucky Old Sun (Gillespie-Smith) 3:18
05. S¡Posin' (Razaf-Denniker) 2:39
06. Goodbye (Gordon Jenkins) 2:24
07. Everything Depends on You (Hines-Carpenter-Dunlop) 2:34
08. Close Your Eyes (Bernice Petkere) 2:29
09. You Go to My Head (Coots-Gillespie) 3:02
10. If Love is Trouble (Handy-Segal) 3:43
11. Remember (Irving Berlin) 2:44
12. Easy to Remember (Rodgers-Hart) 2:58
13. September in the Rain (Warren-Dubin) 3:08
14. Home (Van Steeden-Clarkson) 3:10
15. Nightingale (Cugat-Rosner-Wise) 2:55
16. Nobody's Got it Better Than Me (Unknown) 3:13
17. Six P.M. (Mossman-Shelley) 2:32
18. Only For You, Lucia (Unknown) 3:03
19. Worry Bird (Benjamin-Weiss-Singer) 2:37
20. Out of the Night (Benjamin-Weiss-Ford-O’Keefe) 2:58
21. I’m Afraid (Paul Insetta) 2:38
22. Wheel of Fortune (Benjamin-Weiss) 2:28
23. I Ran All the Way Home (Benjamin-Weiss) 3:04
24. Lemme Go (Bush-Pober) 2:12
25. Wild (Cy Coben) 2:35
26. Safari (Unknown) 2:51
CD 3
01. Lift Every Voice and Sing (Johnson-Johnson) Alt. Take 2:58
02. Black Shadows (Howard-Hughes) 3:00
03. I Feel Like Crying (Biggs-Thomas) 2:58
04. Don't Talk Darling (Unknown) 3:11 Unissued
05. Stormy Afternoon (Unknown) 2:39
06. Lift Every Voice and Sing (Johnson-Johnson) 3:10
07. Battle Hymn of the Republic (Steffe-Ward Howe) 2:42
08. There Is A Way (Unknown) 3:08
09. My Task (Ray-Pickup-Ashford/P.D.) 3:17
10. April in Paris (Duke-Harburg) 5:28
11. A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody (Irving Berlin) 2:46
12. When I Dream of You (Hines-Carpenter) 2:31
13. I’ll Step Aside (Benjamin-Weiss) 2:58
14. The World Was Mine (Barr-Schiff) 2:41
15. Teach Me How to Cry (Phil Tuminello) 2:09
16. Bye, Baby, Bye (Phil Tuminello) 2:14
17. No Tears Tomorrow (Rogers Simon) 2:35
18. Durango (Unknown) 2:20
19. Gotta Believe (And Be Happy) (B. Bowser) 2:26
20. Somebody Loves Me (Gershwin-DeSylva-MacDonald) 2:29
21. Stella by Starlight (Young-Washington) 3:50
22. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis (Brooks-Russell) 2:52
23. Misty (Garner-Burke) 3:06
