Leslie Hutchinson

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Leslie "Hutch" Hutchinson (born March 7, 1900 in Gouyave , Grenada , † August 19, 1969 in Hampstead , London) was a Grenadian cabaret and night club singer and jazz pianist who was very successful in London from the 1920s to 1940s. He did not write any songs himself, but interpreted those of other composers such as Cole Porter , George Gershwin , Irving Berlin or Jerome Kern .

Life

His parents were George and Marianne (nee Turnbull) Hutchinson. From his father, who was a church musician, he learned to play the piano at an early age. After school and a short time in government service, he arrived in the United States on September 6, 1916, where he was to study medicine at Meharry College in Nashville . After nine months in a preliminary course, he went to New York, where he worked as an elevator boy and jazz musician and lived in Harlem .

In 1923/1924 he married Ella Byrd in New York. With her he had a daughter Lesley in 1926. He later had at least six other children from different women.

From 1924 to 1927 he lived in Paris, where there was less competition among musicians and where racism was less pronounced. In New York, Hutchinson had made contacts with high-ranking European people who were now useful to him. The Spanish Queen Ena von Battenberg brought him to Madrid for about six months to give her children music lessons and to perform in front of the court. In Paris, Hutchinson met Cole Porter, with whom he became friends and whose songs he added to his repertoire.

In 1927 the English theater manager CB Cochran invited him to London. He appeared there in West End - revues , nightclubs like the Café de Paris and exclusive private parties and soon became an adored star.

He signed a record deal with Parlaphone , which resulted in several successful hits. After about 400 recordings, he switched to HMV in 1940 . In total, Hutchinson probably recorded between 600 and 700 songs. Occasionally he performed with a small orchestra under the name Hutch and His Charm Music .

During the Second World War he gave concerts in air raid shelters. After that, his type of music was no longer in demand. In 1953 he had one last comeback with appearances at Quaglino's restaurant . In 1958 his wife died and in 1967 he had to sell his house due to debts.

The grave of Leslie Hutchinson in Highgate Cemetery .

He died on August 19, 1969 of pneumonia. Lord Mountbatten paid for his funeral .

According to jazz critic Will Friedwald , Leslie Hutchinson was the first and in his day only black singer allowed to sing romantic and sophisticated love songs. Only later did singers like Nat Cole , Billy Eckstine and Bobby Short follow him .

Like his musical presentation style, the clothes and demeanor of the 1.88 m tall Hutchinson were also characterized by extreme elegance. His affair with Edwina Mountbatten , the wife of Louis Mountbatten, was an open secret in high society and was considered scandalous.

Title interpreted by him (selection)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Will Friedwald: A biographical guide to great jazz and pop singers. New York 2010, p. 581
  2. ↑ In London he lived from 1929 to 1967 at 31 Steele's Road, Chalk Farm. An English Heritage plaque has been a reminder of him there since 2012 . National Archives of Grenada
  3. ^ Will Friedwald: A biographical guide to great jazz and pop singers. New York 2010, pp. 580-581
personal data
SURNAME Hutchinson, Leslie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hutchinson, Hutch; Hutchinson, Leslie Arthur Julien
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Grenadian cabaret and night club singer and jazz pianist
DATE OF BIRTH March 7, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Gouyave , Grenada
DATE OF DEATH 19th August 1969
Place of death Hampstead , London