Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 1, 2026

Lurlean Hunter

Lurlean Hunter was an American contralto singer.

Last revised
Jul 1, 2026
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Lurlean Hunter
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Background information
Born(1919-12-01)December 1, 1919
Duncan, Mississippi
DiedMarch 11, 1983(1983-03-11) (aged 63)
Kalamazoo, Michigan
OccupationSinger
Spouses
  • Charles Taylor (m. 1952)
  • Gregory Tischler (2 children)

Lurlean Hunter (December 1, 1919 – March 11, 1983)1 was an American contralto singer.2

Early life

Lurlean Hunter was born on December 1, 1919 in Duncan, Mississippi.3 Her family moved to Chicago when she was two months old. She attended Englewood High School in Chicago.4

Career

Hunter's first paid singing performance started with Red Saunders and his orchestra at Club DeLisa on Chicago's South Side.4 She was signed by Discovery Records in 1950.5

In 1951, Hunter was a featured performer with George Shearing and his quintet at Birdland in New York City.6 Later that year, she was among a group of "rising young stars of jazz" presented at the Streamliner night club in Chicago.7 Other Chicago venues at which she performed included the Club Silhouette and the Cloister Inn, where an initial four-week booking turned into a 2.5-year stay.8 Her work in other cities included singing at the Jazz Villa in St. Louis, the Roosevelt Hotel in New York,4 and the Circus Lounge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.9 In 1957, she appeared on the Nat King Cole Show where she sang "It Never Entered My Mind".10

In 1960, Hunter began recording for Atlantic, with "Blue & Sentimental" as her first album for that label.11 She had previously recorded for RCA Victor in 1956-1958.4

In 1963, Hunter became the first African-American performer hired by WBBM radio in Chicago. After a successful on-air audition, she became a member of the staff of the all-live Music Wagon Show.12 On August 2, 1968, National Educational Television jazz broadcast featured Hunter, accompanied by the Vernel Fournier Trio, performing "ballads and blues, old and new".13

Hunter made commercials for products such as peas and telephone directories.4

"Lonesome Gal" court case

In 1958, radio disc jockey Jean King,14 who broadcast using the name "Lonesome Girl,"15 sued RCA Record Division after it used Lurlean Hunter's image and name on the cover of its "Lonesome Gal" record album16 (LPM-1151, 1956).17 The suit in United States District Court, Southern District of California, alleged "unfair competition, infringement of trade name, unfair business practices, unjust enrichment and invasion of the right of privacy."16 The court acknowledged that the album contained the song "Lonesome Gal", and that the use of one song's title for an album's title was common practice in the recording industry. However, it ruled in King's favor on the basis that she was the first person to "adopt and establish the name Lonesome Gal as a personality" and that name was exclusively associated with her.16 Damages of $22,500 were awarded to King, and the company was ordered to destroy all material containing Hunter's likeness in conjunction with "Lonesome Gal".16

Personal life

On December 7, 1952, Hunter married Charles Taylor, a shoe salesman.18 She later married Greg Tischler, who also was her manager.4 She had two children, a son (Tav Joseph Hunter) and a daughter (Seann Lurean Tischler).1

Later life and death

After she retired from performing, Lurlean Tischler served as a trustee on the Covert Township board in Covert, Michigan from 1975 until her death in 1983. She died on March 11, 1983 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan at the age of 63, supposedly after an undisclosed illness.1 She was interred at Covert Cemetery in Covert, Michigan.1

Discography

Albums

Singles

  • Palm Chant (with the Bleacher Boys, 1951, Seymour Records)
  • Moonlight in Vermont / If I Should Lose You (with The Meadowlarks; backing vocals, 1951, Shellac Records)
  • Imagination / There Goes My Heart (1951, Major Records)
  • My Home Town, Chicago / I Get a Warm Feeling (1951, Discovery Records)
  • My Home Town, Chicago / I Hadn't Anyone Till You (1951, Seymour Records)
  • Bye Bye Blackbird (1956, Vik Records)
  • You Touched Me / Show Me Love (1957, Vik Records)
  • You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To (on the album Melodie Di Harlem with Harry Belafonte and Lena Horne)
  • There's a Lull in My Life (1964, Smash Records)
  • Oh Well / I'm Sitting On Top Of The World (1964, Smash Records)
  • This Much I Know (1956, VIK Records)
References

References

  1. "Covert Twp. Official Dies At Age 63". The Herald-Palladium. Paxton Media Group. March 12, 1983. p. 12. Retrieved March 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  2. "Lewis and Hunter Swing Like Long-Lost Friends". The Minneapolis Star. Minnesota, Minneapolis. July 6, 1960. p. 39. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Lurlean Hunter [Tischer] 1983 MI obit - The Herald Palladium, Sat 12 March 1983 page 12". The Herald-Palladium. 1983-03-12. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  4. Hough, Hugh (June 18, 1963). "Lurlean Hunter, Rising Star as Jazz Singer". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri, St. Louis. p. 3 D. Retrieved 10 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Rhythm & Blues Notes" (PDF). Billboard. December 2, 1950. p. 26. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  6. "Shearing Back". Daily News. New York, New York City. June 28, 1951. p. 45. Retrieved 17 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Rising Star". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. November 4, 1951. p. Part 7, p 4. Retrieved 17 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Shining Stars". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. December 22, 1956. p. 12. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Lurlean Hunter To Give Concert At Fisher Park". The Ottawa Journal. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. December 6, 1956. p. 27. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Nat King Cole (2024-05-07). Lurlean Hunter Performs It Never Entered My Mind | The Nat King Cole Show. Retrieved 2026-03-24 – via YouTube.
  11. "Lurlean Hunter Weds Jazz and Pops". HiFi/Stereo Review. 6 (4). April 1961. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  12. "WBBM Signs Lurlean Hunter to Live Show". Billboard. August 3, 1963. p. 39. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  13. "TV Key Previews". The News. New Jersey, Paterson. August 2, 1968. p. 15. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Folkart, Burt a (1993-08-21). "Jean King, 76; Actress, Radio's 'Lonesome Gal'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  15. Andrew Hansbrough (2013-12-19). "Lonesome Gal: Virtual Seduction in the Golden Age of Radio". Scripts and Grooves. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
  16. Los Angeles Copyright Society (1964). Copyright and Related Topcs. University of California Press. p. 298. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  17. "Lurlean Hunter, A New Star". Ford Lauderdale News. Florida, Fort Lauderdale. February 5, 1956. p. 9-C. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Mr. & Mrs". Jet. III (13): 43. January 22, 1953. Retrieved 17 July 2019.