American actress and singer
For the adult film actress whose real name is Linda Hopkins, see
Tera Patrick
.
Musical artist
Linda Hopkins
(born
Melinda Helen Matthews
; December 14, 1924 ? April 10, 2017)
[2]
was an American actress and
blues
and
gospel
singer. She recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
Hopkins was born in
New Orleans
,
Louisiana
,
United States
,
[2]
the second child of the Reverend Fred Matthews, Sr. and Hazel Smith, Hopkins grew up in the section of New Orleans known by the locals as "Zion City". She went to school in "Gert Town" which bordered the
Xavier University of Louisiana
.
Known as "Lil Helen Matthews" as a child, she was discovered at the age of eleven by
Mahalia Jackson
when she persuaded Jackson to perform at a fundraiser at her home church, St. Mark's Baptist Church. Lil Helen opened the children's fundraising program with a rendition of Jackson's gospel hit, "God Shall Wipe Your Tears Away". Jackson was reportedly so impressed by Helen's determination and talent that she arranged for the young girl to join the Southern Harp Spiritual Singers in 1936. Hopkins remained with the group for a decade.
She first saw
Bessie Smith
perform
Empty Bed Blues
at The New Orleans Palace Theatre in 1936. Hopkins greatly admired Smith and later won critical plaudits for her rendition of Smith in the 1959 theatrical presentation
Jazz Train
.
[1]
Matthews left
New Orleans
in the 1950s, and, in 1951, began performing at Slim Jenkins' Night Club in the
Oakland
/
Richmond
area. There she met
Johnny Otis
and
Little Esther Phillips
who created her stage name, Linda Hopkins.
[2]
In 1952, Hopkins toured
Hawaii
and
Japan
for two years which included a stint with
Louis Armstrong
at The Brown Derby in
Honolulu
. She recorded for the
Savoy
, Crystalette, Forecast,
Federal
and
Atco
labels and often appeared at the
Apollo Theatre
in
Harlem
.
[2]
In 1960, Hopkins first toured Europe in the
Broadway Express
, the restaged production of
Jazz Train
. She recorded "
Shake a Hand
" with
Jackie Wilson
on the
Brunswick
label, which is her sole hit single reaching #21 on the
US
Billboard
R&B
chart
.
[1]
She also recorded "I Found Love" and "There's Nothing Like Love" with him on Brunswick in early 1962. She attended
Stella Adler
's Acting School in
New York City
.
[2]
During the 1970s, Hopkins performed in the Broadway musical,
Purlie
, and with
Sammy Davis Jr.
for nine months. In addition, she performed at President Jimmy Carter's 1977 inaugural ball. In 1972 she was awarded a
Tony
and
Drama Desk Award
for her performance in
Inner City
.
[2]
She sang "Do You Believe" at the political event
Star-Spangled Women for McGovern?Shriver
, bringing 19,000 people to their feet.
[3]
Hopkins starred in
Me and Bessie
, a one-woman show paying homage to
blues
singer
Bessie Smith
, conceived and written by Hopkins and
Will Holt
. The world premiere was in
Washington, D.C.
, in 1974. After a run in
Los Angeles
it transferred to the
Ambassador Theatre
on
Broadway
. The critically acclaimed show ran for thirteen months and 453 performances, and Hopkins was nominated for the
Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience
.
[2]
In 1985,
Black and Blue
, written by Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli, premiered in Paris at the Theatre Musical Paris. The musical revue opened on Broadway in 1989 and ran for 829 performances. Hopkins received a
Tony Award
nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical.
Wild Women Blues
, conceived by Hopkins and produced by Mel Howard and created by Hopkins and William Lipscomb, premiered in Berlin in 1997. In 1998 Hopkins celebrated 50 years in show business.
In 2005,
Motherin' The Blues: Linda Hopkins ? The Continuing Legacy of The Blues Woman
, researched and written by Erany Barrow-Pryor, Ph.D. through the Department of English at University of California, Los Angeles, was published.
[4]
In October 2005, Hopkins received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
[2]
Hopkins died in
Milwaukee
,
Wisconsin
, on April 10, 2017, at the age of 92.
[5]
[6]
Discography
[
edit
]
- Shake a Hand
with Jackie Wilson (Brunswick, 1963)
- Linda Hopkins
(RCA Victor, 1972)
- Me and Bessie
(Columbia, 1976)
- How Blue Can You Get
(Palo Alto, 1983)
- Here's the Kid: Live in Sesjun
(Jazz Between the Dikes, 1994)
- Mel Howard Presents: Wild Women Blues
(DRG, 1999)
- The Living Legend Live!
(FreeHam, 2006)
Filmography
[
edit
]
- 2002:
Cool Cat Theme Song
with Derek Savage Productions
[7]
- 2003:
Trolly the Trout Theme Song
with Derek Savage Productions
[8]
- 2009:
Linda Hopkins: Deep in the Night
with
Eddie Harris
and
Paul Smith
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Biography by Ron Wynn"
. Allmusic.com
. Retrieved
September 2,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Linda Hopkins"
.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame
. Hwof.com/star
. Retrieved
September 2,
2011
.
- ^
Roxon, Lillian
(November 5, 1972).
"A New Role for Women in Rock?"
.
The Daily News
. New York City. p. 385.
- ^
Barrow-Pryor, Erany.
Motherin' The Blues: Linda Hopkins ? The Continuing Legacy of The Blues Woman
. Ann Arbor, Michigan: ProQuest, 2005. This dissertation is forthcoming in 2009 as a published monograph (
VDM Verlag
)
- ^
"Legendary Gospel and Blues singer Linda Hopkins dies at 92 | SoulTracks - Soul Music Biographies, News and Reviews"
.
SoulTracks.com
. 11 April 2017
. Retrieved
2017-04-11
.
- ^
"Linda Hopkins, Tony Award-winning actress and singer, dies at 92"
.
The New York Times
. April 11, 2017
. Retrieved
April 11,
2017
.
- ^
Savage, Derek.
"Cool Cat Loves You"
.
Savage Productions
.
- ^
Savage, Derek.
"Trolly The Trout"
.
youtube
. Derek Sage.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-22.
External links
[
edit
]
Awards for Linda Hopkins
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1950?1975
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1976?2000
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2001?present
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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