In one way, Linda Hopkins cannot be considered among our treasured distant ancestors because she died Monday, April 10. But given her propensity to summon the icons of the past, none more illuminating than Bessie Smith, Hopkins is one for the ages. Yes, she could channel Smith’s larger-than-life presence onstage and in song, but Hopkins had her own compelling persona, one that earned her a gallery of awards and commendations.
Noted New York Times music and entertainment critic Walter Kerr captured Hopkins’ power and essence when commenting on her performance in “Inner City,” a musical based on Eve Merriam’s “Mother Goose” tales. Kerr was not that impressed with the musical itself, but when it came to Hopkins he said effusively, “Just let a lady named Linda Hopkins stand there all night, tapping one foot slightly, opening her composed mouth to let miraculous sound come out of it, reaching out her arms to the balcony as though to complete its curve and make the world come full circle, shaking her head very slightly in deep private worry as she stalks to the portals, done with a song. She is magnificent.”
That’s a loving mouthful from Kerr, and he has splendidly evoked a typical moment in which Hopkins was able to display the might of her creativity, to project just the right amount of sonority of voice and performance to transport an audience to that special place she inhabited. The performance brought her a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award for the best actress in a musical in 1972.
The first world Hopkins inhabited was New Orleans, where she was born Melinda Helen Matthews, Dec. 14, 1924. Her father, Fred, was a deacon at St. Mark’s Baptist Church. He died just before she was born. Her mother, Hazel Smith, was a domestic worker. At the age of 3, standing on a crate, she was a feature attraction at her church with the choir. Eight years later, already demonstrating her command, she invited the great Mahalia Jackson to perform at a fundraiser at her church.
On this occasion, Hopkins expressed an uncommon maturity, so much so that Jackson was not aware she was conversing with a young girl. After arriving, Jackson was astounded even further when Hopkins boldly chose to sing one of Jackson’s signature songs, “God Shall Wipe Your Tears Away.” In effect, this performance was an audition, and Jackson immediately arranged for Hopkins to join the Southern Harps, a female gospel group based in New Orleans. For more than a decade, she was a mainstay in the group and their voices are heard to great notice on King Records.
In 1950, she moved to Oakland, Calif., where she directed choirs in churches throughout the Bay Area. Her career took a dramatic turn after an audition at a local nightclub. Slim Jenkins, the club’s manager, hired her.
Gradually, with a growing confidence, she began to expand her repertoire, particularly after absorbing herself in the blues and the music of Bessie Smith. Smith’s version of “Empty Bed Blues” was among the tunes that were a major influence on her desire to capture the magic of her idol. By the mid-50s, after receiving a recommendation from Little Esther Phillips that Hopkins be her replacement in Johnny Otis’ band, Hopkins (and it was during this period that she truly became Linda Hopkins and no longer Helen Matthews) had the platform and opportunity to delve deeper into Bessie Smith’s style and delivery. Soon, as a member of a historical revue, The Jazz Train, Hopkins was presented with another plateau to portray her devotion to Smith and the blues. Her duet with Jackie Wilson, “Shake a Hand,” bolstered her reputation, and her popularity zoomed to new heights.
Never one to blow an opportunity, Hopkins made the most of her cameo appearance in “Purlie,” Ossie Davis’ musical starring Cleavon Little and Melba Moore, rocking the theater with her performance of “Walk Him Up the Stairs.” The number was a showstopper, which led to a nearly yearlong tour with Sammy Davis Jr. (Too bad there’s no YouTube video of her performance.)
Despite a trove of successes, Hopkins kept the influence of Bessie Smith on the backburner, and it came to the fore after “Purlie,” and with Will Holt, she conceived and starred in “Me and Bessie.” The world premiere was in the nation’s capital in 1974, and eventually the show made its way to Broadway and 453 performances at the Ambassador Theatre. She was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.
In 1974, when not on Broadway, Hopkins was summoned for several film roles, including in “The Education of Sonny Carson,” and in Clint Eastwood’s “Honky Tonk Man,” most memorably for her rendition of “When the Blues Come Around the Corner.” She also had a small part in “Roots: The Next Generation” in 1979.
Her star was cast even higher in 1977 when she performed at President Jimmy Carter’s inaugural ball.
When “Black and Blue” the musical opened on Broadway in 1989, Hopkins was back on the boards, and for 829 performances she wowed audiences, receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical. Later, she was the principal writer of “Wild Woman Blues” that premiered in Berlin in 1997.
Much of her phenomenal career is highlighted in “Motherin’ the Blues: Linda Hopkins—The Continuing Legacy of the Blues Woman,” written by Erany Barrow-Pryor and published in 2005. In the fall of that same year, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Hopkins told a reporter in 1969 that she only “sing songs where you can give vent to your feelings.” She said, “When you’re singing an anthem or hymns, you might cry or something, but that’s all you’re going to do. But when you’re singing a gospel, giving that gospel beat, Christians can get up and dance, because there’s dancing in heaven.”
And that dancing is given a fresh burst of energy with the arrival of Hopkins’ passionate intensity and vocal majesty.