Country music took on a “super” tone during the second week of April 1973. The songs of Freddie Hart, “Super Kind Of Woman” and Donna Fargo’s “Superman” both rested in the Top Five. Of his six No. 1 singles, the hit “Super Kind Of Woman” is the only one that Hart didn’t write. It was written by Jack Lebsock, who had co-written an earlier Freddie Hart chart-topper, “Bless Your Heart”. Lebsock later recorded under the name “Jack Grayson” and reached No. 18 in 1982 with his remake of Billy Walker’s 1970 hit, “When A Man Loves A Woman.”
As a Song Writer
Freddie Hart had several other influential musical associations during his early years in the music industry. The first came in 1949 when he met the great Hank Williams Sr. Although Hart basically ran errands and picked up sandwiches for Williams, they struck up something of a friendship. Although Hank gave Freddie a few pointers about songwriting. He said:
“When writing a song, make believe it’s the last song you’re ever going to write or you’re ever going to sing. Make sure it’s real – little episodes of life put to music.”
It was Lefty Frizzell who gave Hart his first break in the industry. Hart served as a member of Lefty’s band for 11 years. The two met while Hart was working in a cotton-seed mill in Phoenix, Arizona. Frizzell helped him get his first recording contract with Capitol Records. As a result, Hart’s first single, “Butterfly Love” was released in 1952. A year after, Freddie became a regular on the “Town Hall Party” show. It was a West Coast version of the Grand Ole Opry that aired on Saturday nights for a three-year period.
His Songs and Howard Harlan
By 1959, Hart had moved to Columbia Records where he achieved his first chart success with a Harlan Howard song called “The Wall,” which reached No. 24. Four more releases mildly charted through 1961. A shift to Kapp Records in 1965 sent Freddie to No. 23 with one of his best records, “Hank Williams’ Guitar.” By 1970, he was back at Capitol recording his “California Grapevine” album. He eventually yielded his breakthrough hit, “Easy Loving,” which garnered multiple awards from the Country Music Association. After a nearly 20-year struggle, Freddie Hart had arrived in a big way.
Building on the runaway momentum that “Easy Loving” had established, Hart quickly logged five consecutive number one records. One of these, “My Hang Up Is You,” landed at No. 1 and stayed there for six weeks, making it one of the three biggest chart hits of the 1970s. “Super Kind Of Woman,” Freddie Hart’s fifth of his six chart-toppers, reached the summit of Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart April 7, 1973.
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freddie hart, super kind of woman