Hadda Brooks (1916-2002), like Nat King Cole, had two careers in one. She began playing piano when she was four and was classically trained. Brooks had a job as a rehearsal pianist in Hollywood, accompanying dancing movie stars. Discovered by Jules Bihani who was in the process of starting Modern Records in 1945, Brooks was the first artist signed to the label and she immediately displayed her mastery of boogie-woogie on her first release, “Just A Little Bluesie” and “Swingin’ The Boogie.”
She initially became known as a boogie-woogie specialist in the style of Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis, and even transformed a few classical themes into the style including “Polonaise Boogie,” “Grieg’s Concerto Boogie,” and “Humoresque Boogie.”
While playing a show with bandleader Charlie Barnet, Brooks was encouraged to sing and she performed “You Won’t Let Me Go” which was also her first recording as a vocalist. Her next vocal recording, “That’s My Desire,” became a big hit and that was followed by her very popular recordings of “Out Of The Blue” and “What Have I Done.” From then on, she was famous as a sophisticated ballad singer, only occasionally recording a boogie-woogie number after 1947.
Brooks appeared briefly in two movies, performing “I Hadn’t Anyone Till You” in the Humphrey Bogart film In A Lonely Place (1950) and “Temptation”
