*Not only was she a gospel, jazz and blues legend, but she also ruled Broadway during her illustrious career. One of her iconic roles was the 1974 musical “Me and Bessie.”
Unfortunately, Linda Hopkins, has gone on to the big stage in the sky. She died of natural causes on April 10 at a care facility in Wisconsin.
Born in New Orleans in 1924, the precocious singer went on the professional stage at age 11 as “Li’l Helen Matthews.“ She was discovered by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and spent most of her early life touring the South with various gospel groups, notably the Southern Harp Spiritual Singers. She got her first look at Smith, the performer who would play such an important role in her career, when she attended one of Smith’s concerts in New Orleans in 1936. It was during this time that Hopkins absorbed firsthand the music she later would preserve and champion. In the 1950s she began to tour more widely and in 1951 changed her professional name to Linda Hopkins.
Under her new name Hopkins made her Apollo Theatre debut as her recording career was beginning to blossom. She had a hit single in 1963, “Shake a Hand,” with Jackie Wilson, which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard R&B chart. Hopkins began performing in Bessie Smith’s style in 1959 with the touring revue Jazz Train, which toured Europe as Broadway Express. In the 1960s she spent time as a backup singer for Sammy Davis Jr. She also began studying acting professionally, which led to her Broadway debut in the 1970 musical Purlie, based on the play Purlie Victorious. Hopkins can be heard on the original cast album as the lead singer in the rousing, gospel-flavored opening number “Walk Him Up the Stairs.”
As far as Hopkins’ film career, it was limited to small roles in films such as “Disorderlies,” “Leprechaun 2,” and “Cries in the Dark.” However, Hopkins was accorded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005 on the basis of her entire career on stage and in broadcast. Her final release was the concert DVD Deep in the Night in 2009, when she was 85.
You can read/learn MORE at Linda Hopkins at Playbill.
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