Biography
Ernestine Hassel Abbott recorded and composed under the name Ernestina throughout the 1950s. The shortened credit may have been chosen to sidestep the cumbersome full name, which carried an unintended ecclesiastical connotation. As a peripheral rhythm-and-blues performer, she was linked briefly with Dean Barlow of the Crickets in a single, well-planned session that alternated lead vocal duties between the two singers.
Harlem-based, Ernestina benefited on her limited surviving sides from the contributions of alto saxophonist Al Sears and guitarist Mickey Baker. Her greater skill apparently lay in songwriting, a point underscored by an episode rich in contradiction. She both wrote and sang the ballad “Don’t You Ever Let Me Go,” distinguished by Milt Hinton’s memorable bass line, only to ask her producer the following month to release her from the contract she had just signed. The request might have gained extra resonance had it been conveyed via “Special Delivery,” the title of the record’s B-side. When she withdrew from performing, she cited “personal reasons,” a phrase that itself might have served as a song title.
Harlem-based, Ernestina benefited on her limited surviving sides from the contributions of alto saxophonist Al Sears and guitarist Mickey Baker. Her greater skill apparently lay in songwriting, a point underscored by an episode rich in contradiction. She both wrote and sang the ballad “Don’t You Ever Let Me Go,” distinguished by Milt Hinton’s memorable bass line, only to ask her producer the following month to release her from the contract she had just signed. The request might have gained extra resonance had it been conveyed via “Special Delivery,” the title of the record’s B-side. When she withdrew from performing, she cited “personal reasons,” a phrase that itself might have served as a song title.
Albums
Singles
