Alberta Hunter
Retired from nursing at age 82 to reclaim a nightclub stage, launching a second recording career that spanned six years.
1895–1984 (age 89)·American jazz-blues singer-songwriter·Birthday: April 1·The Lost Generation
Biography
Alberta Hunter retired from a 20-year nursing career in 1977. She then walked into a Greenwich Village club and demanded an audition. This launched a six-year comeback, resulting in two Grammy-nominated albums for Columbia Records. Hunter’s first career began in 1911 when she ran away from Memphis to Chicago. She wrote “Downhearted Blues” in 1922; Bessie Smith’s 1923 recording sold 780,000 copies. Hunter performed for King George V in 1927 and starred in the first integrated musical on Broadway, “Show Boat,” in London’s West End in 1928. She toured Europe for the USO from 1943 to 1954. Facing dwindling jazz opportunities, she fabricated a high school diploma, entered nursing school at age 58, and worked at Roosevelt Hospital until 1977. Her comeback album, “Amtrak Blues” (1978), featured original songs. She performed four nights a week at The Cookery in New York until weeks before her death in 1984. The New York Times noted her voice had lost none of its “authoritative clarity.”
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Alberta was born in 1895, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alberta Was Born
The biggest hits of 1895
Alberta's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1895Born
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
President: Grover Cleveland
1900Started school
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1908Became a teenager
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Could drive
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1913Could vote
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1916Turned 21
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1925Turned 30
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1935Turned 40
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1945Turned 50
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1955Turned 60
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1965Turned 70
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1975Turned 80
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1984Died at 89
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
Key Achievements
- Wrote "Downhearted Blues" (1922), which became a foundational recording of the classic blues era via Bessie Smith.
- Starred as Queenie in the London production of "Show Boat" (1928), a landmark integrated musical.
- Recorded the album "Amtrak Blues" (1978) at age 83, earning a Grammy nomination and critical resurgence.
Did You Know?
She lied about her age to become a nurse, claiming she was 50 when she was actually 58 to meet the age limit.
During WWII, she was the first black USO entertainer to perform in an integrated show for troops in Iceland.
She insisted on being called "Miss Hunter" by club staff during her comeback, maintaining strict professional decorum.
“You have to be a thief to steal a beat. You have to know what you're doing.”
