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Johnny Hartman was born John Maurice Hartman on July 13, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois. Possessing a beautiful voice, good looks and an engaging stage presence, his lush bass, similar to Billy Eckstine’s, was less mannered. He always cited Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole as his primary influences, audible in his naturalistic phrasing and attention to the narrative detail of a lyric.

Briefly a member of Dizzy Gillespie’s group, over the next four decades Hartman recorded infrequently over a four-decade career but left as his legacy exquisite albums such as Songs From the Heart and I Just Dropped By to Say Hello. Johnny’s well-known collaboration with the saxophonist John Coltrane in 1963 called “John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman” was chosen by Esquire Magazine as the greatest album ever made.

While the crossover fame he richly deserved eluded him during his lifetime, he recorded through much of his career as a solo artist. By the late-1960s Hartman was working primarily in Japan and Australia, performing starring in his own TV specials. By the late-’70s Hartman was working back in the States, where he earned a Grammy nomination in 1980. Then, just as his career was taking off again, he developed cancer, passing away on September 15, 1983.

Johnny Hartman’s resurgence in popularity In the mid-’90s came when Clint Eastwood included a handful of his songs in his adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County, introducing him to a whole new generation of listeners. The resulting soundtrack CD, as well as two re-issued Hartman albums, quickly sold more than any of his work had during his lifetime.

Dose A Day – Blues Away

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