Every time you do something to survive, it gets shut down or taken away. You can’t do anything to even try to get out. “You do get this feeling of ‘When do you throw in the towel?’ because you’re buried and you can't get out. A legend and artist until the day she died, Albert passed away peacefully at the age of 89 on October 17, 1984.“It’s extremely hard to stay positive when it's been this long,” Alpuche said. At the age of 82, she made a shocking comeback, was re-signed by Columbia Records, recorded two new albums, and became a frequent performer at The Cookery Club in Greenwich Village. She earned a nursing degree and worked in New York City for many years. Paralyzed with grief after her mother’s death, Alberta abruptly retired from music in 1957. Pictured here in 1982, Alberta’s comeback was spearheaded by her album Amtrak Blues. The two quickly fell in love and would remain together until Lottie’s death many years later. The niece of the famous black Vaudeville performer, Bert Williams, Lottie was no stranger to the entertainment business. Only a few months after the divorce, Alberta’s “roving eyes” caught Lottie Tyler at the Panama Cafe in Chicago. The union was short-lived, however, and many speculate that their marriage was simply a cover-up for Alberta’s lesbian affairs. In 1919, she married a former soldier named Willard Saxby Townsend. She performed in musicals on both sides of the Atlantic, recorded hits with Louis Armstrong, and entertained troops in Casablanca on a 1944 U.S.O tour.Īlberta, far right, performs Vaudeville in the early days of her career. She recorded several tracks with Paramount and Columbia throughout the 1920s, and even wrote the Bessie Smith hit “Downhearted Blues.” Although her work was often stolen out from under her by recording companies and male co-writers, her passion could not be deterred. By 1917, she had a five-year contract with Dreamland.Īfter returning from a European tour in 1917, Alberta found that news of her talent had spread far and wide. Alberta’s big break came when she was booked to sing with the famous bandleader, King Oliver, at the Dreamland Cafe. After years of working the nightlife beat, she caught the eye of several high-profile cabaret owners. Alberta lived with a family friend peeling potatoes by day and singing in dive bars, clubs, and saloons by night. She quickly found out, however, that paid singing gigs were hard to come by in the Windy City.
After her mother’s marriage, sixteen year old Alberta set off for Chicago in hopes of becoming a singer. In order to support her family, Laura Peterson found work as a servant in a local brothel and eventually remarried. Her father abandoned the family when she was young, although her mother reported to her four daughters that he had died of pneumonia. A member of both the Blues Hall of Fame and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, Alberta spent the majority of her life with her partner Lottie Tyler.Īlberta is considered one of the greats of the Jazz Age, including fellow sapphics Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Ethel Waters.Īlberta was born in Memphis, Tennessee to working class parents. Jazz icon Alberta Hunter was born on this day in 1895.