Ivory Joe Hunter (October 10, 1914 – November 8, 1974) was an African American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist, best known for his hit recording, "Since I Met You, Baby" (1956). Billed as The Baron of the Boogie, he was also known as The Happiest Man Alive. He is sometimes confused with Motown producer-songwriter Joe Hunter.
Born in Kirbyville, Texas, he was christened Ivory Joe as an infant. Developing an early interest in music from his father, Dave Hunter, who played guitar, and his gospel-singing mother, he was a talented pianist by the age of 13. As a teenager, Hunter made his first recording for Alan Lomax and the Library of Congress in 1933. [1]
In the early 1940s, Hunter had his own radio show in Beaumont, Texas on KFDM, where he eventually became program manager, and in 1942, he moved to Los Angeles, joining Johnny Moore's Three Blazers in the mid-1940s. When he wrote and recorded his first song, "Blues at Sunrise" with the Three Blazers for his own label, Ivory Records, it became a regional hit. [2] "I Almost Lost My Mind" is a popular song. It was written by Ivory Joe Hunter and was published in 1950. Hunter's recording of the.