Adelaide Hall (1901-1993) was an American-born British jazz singer and entertainer. She began her career on Broadway in 1921 in the chorus line of the Broadway musical Shuffle Along, and went on to appear in a number of similar black musical shows, until in 1928 she starred in Blackbirds of 1928. It was this revue that made her name, both in the U.S. and in Europe when the show was taken to Paris. Her performances in it included the songs "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby", "Diga Diga Doo", and "I Must Have That Man", the latter presented here, which continued to be audience favourites throughout her career. Hall went to the United Kingdom in 1938 in order to take a starring role in a musical version of Edgar Wallace's The Sun Never Sets at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She was so successful, and became so popular with British audiences, that she stayed, becoming one of the most popular singers and entertainers of the time. She lived in London from 1938 until her death in 1993. Hall's career was an almost uninterrupted success. She made over seventy records for Decca, had her own radio series (the first black artist to have a long-term contract with the BBC), and appeared on the stage, in films, and in nightclubs. During an extremely long career (since 1991 she has held the world record as the most enduring recording artist), Hall has performed with major artists such as Ethel Waters, Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, and Jools Holland, and has recorded as a jazz singer with Duke Ellington (with whom she made her most famous recording, "Creole Love Call" in 1927), Fats Waller, and Art Tatum. This famous and impressive record was made in 1928.
