"Google Doodle Celebrates the 122nd Birthday of Jazz Icon Adelaide Hall: Discover Adelaide Hall's Remarkable Life"
American-born Adelaide Hall (1901–1993) was a jazz vocalist and performer who lived in the UK. She is recognized as one of the forerunners of scat singing and was a prominent member of the Harlem Renaissance. Google is honoring Hall's 122nd birthday on October 20, 2023, with a unique Doodle.
American-born Adelaide Hall (1901–1993) was a jazz vocalist and performer who lived in the UK. She is recognized as one of the forerunners of scat singing and was a prominent member of the Harlem Renaissance.
A unique doodle from Google honors her 122nd birthday. Hannah Ekuwa Buckman, a guest artist residing in London, made it. A photograph of Hall appears in the Doodle against a vibrant background of musical notes and symbols. Hall is shown grinning confidently while clutching a microphone and dressed in an opulent gown.
The Google Doodle states: "Today's Doodle honors the 122nd birthday of Adelaide Hall, a jazz singer who is widely recognized for introducing scat singing during the Harlem Renaissance. It is in honor of UK Black History Month." The performer, who is from America but now resides in the UK, had a career spanning over 70 years that broke numerous records. Hannah Ekuwa Buckman, a visiting artist from London, created the illustrations for the Doodle project. Adelaide Hall's Formative Years
On October 20, 1901, Adelaide Hall was born in Brooklyn, New York. William and Elizabeth Hall welcomed her into the world. Her mother, Elizabeth Hall, worked as a domestic worker, while her father was a part-time music instructor and pianist. Evelyn was Hall's elder sister as well. Their father taught Adelaide and her sister how to play the piano.
In March 1917, Adelaide's father passed away. Three years later, her sister passed away from influenza.
Adelaide had to struggle to support her mother and herself after their deaths. In 1921, Hall made her stage debut in the Broadway show Shuffle Along as a chorus member. Hall immediately became well-known for her strong voice and captivating stage presence as a result of the show's critical and financial success.
According to the Google Doodle, Hall was born in Brooklyn, New York, on this day in 1901. At an early age, Adelaide's father taught her and her sister how to play the piano. Adelaide was forced to take care of her mother and herself after the untimely deaths of her father and sister. She started her singing career in the chorus line of the Broadway production of Shuffle Along (1921), a well-known all-Black musical that paved the way for African Americans in the entertainment industry.
Hall started a European tour with Chocolate Kiddies in 1925, stopping in a number of places such as Hamburg, Geneva, Paris, and Vienna. The program was a huge hit everywhere it went. Later, it continues, "she went back to Manhattan and kept appearing on Broadway's largest stages."
The Adelaide Hall Breakout
When Adelaide Hall recorded the song "Creole Love Call" with Duke Ellington and his band in 1927, it became her breakthrough hit. Hall's distinctive scat singing style was praised as groundbreaking, and the song became an enormous hit. The song debuted at number 19 on the American Billboard charts.
Following this success, scat singing emerged. Soon after experiencing her first taste of fame, she was cast in Lew Leslie's musical Blackbirds of 1928, which played for over 500 performances and drew over a million spectators before being transferred to the Moulin Rouge in Paris. She made the decision to go permanently to the UK in 1938 after receiving such a warm reception from European audiences. From then on, her success abroad only increased.
"Shortly after, Hall joined the cast of Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1928," according to Google Doodle. Before relocating to the Moulin Rouge in Paris, the show ran for more than 500 performances and had an audience of over a million people. She made the decision to go permanently to the United Kingdom in 1938 after receiving such a warm reception from audiences around Europe. From there, her popularity across the globe only increased.
Following her breakthrough triumph, Hall made more hit records and appeared on Broadway. She rose to prominence as one of the most well-liked black performers of her era, and many other singers tried to emulate her distinctive scat vocal style.
Hall's charisma on stage and her ability to engage audiences also contributed to her popularity. She was well-known for her exuberant disposition and contagious sense of humor.
Hall was a talented dancer and actress as well, and she frequently used these skills in her performances.