Freddie Hart (musician)

Freddie Hart
Freddie Hart in 1966
Background information
Birth name	Frederick Segrest
Born	(1926-12-21) December 21, 1926 (age 90)
Origin	Loachapoka, Alabama
Genres	Country, gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1953–present
Website	www.mreasylovin.com

Frederick Segrest (born December 21, 1926), known professionally as Freddie Hart, is an American country musician and songwriter best known for his No. 1 hit "Easy Loving," which won the Country Music Association Song of the Year award in 1971 and 1972.

Hart charted singles from 1953–1987, and later became a gospel singer. He continues to perform at music festivals and other venues.

Hart was born to a sharecropper family in Loachapoka, Alabama, in 1926 and spent his childhood in nearby Phenix City, Alabama, along with his 11 siblings (Nadine, Bo, Junior, Olin, Marrell, Pearl, Lonnie, Sandra, Gail, J.P., Harold, and a child who died in infancy). He learned to play guitar at age 5 and quit school by age 12. At age 15, Hart lied about his age to join the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, seeing combat action on Guam and Iwo Jima. Following the war, Hart lived in California where he taught classes in self-defense at the Los Angeles Police Academy.

Hart got an early career break when singer Carl Smith covered Hart's song "Loose Talk" in 1955. Other artists who recorded his songs included Patsy Cline ("Lovin' In Vain"), George Jones ("My Tears are Overdue") and Porter Wagoner ("Skid Row Joe").

During the early 1950s, Hart and his family moved to California to further the growing country music scene there. In 1951, he joined Lefty Frizzell's band for a year. It was through Frizzell that Hart got his first recording contract with Capitol Records in 1953. He released several singles including his version of "Loose Talk", but none of these were successful. In 1958, Hart signed with Columbia Records and scored his first chart hit with "The Wall" in 1959 which made the Top 20. His biggest hit for the label was the 1960 Top 20 hit "The Key's In The Mailbox".