Hadda Brooks (October 29, 1916 - November 21, 2002) was a noted African American pianist, vocalist and composer.

She was born Hadda Hopgood in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California [1]. A versatile performer whose career spanned almost six decades and whose repertoire included boogiefied classics, blues, ballads and torch songs, Brooks became known as "the Queen of Boogie Woogie" right after the release, in 1945, of her first single, "Swingin' the Boogie".

Born into a prominent African American family from Georgia, she was taught to play the piano from the age of four and later studied classical music. In the course of her career, Brooks also appeared in films, mainly as a pianist and/or lounge singer (Out of the Blue , 1947; In a Lonely Place, 1950, performing "I Hadn't Anyone 'Til You"). In the 1950s, she was one of the first African American women to host her own television show (The Hadda Brooks Show). After an early retirement, which she spent in Hawaii and Australia, she returned to Los Angeles to be rediscovered in 1986.

She died of heart failure in Los Angeles at the age of 86.

Her most famous songs include:

• "Swingin' the Boogie"
• "That's My Desire"
• "Romance in the Dark"
• "Don't Take Your Love From Me"
• "Say It with a Kiss"

External link

• An interview with Hadda Brooks from the African American Music Collection at the University of Michigan