Biography
Born on 3 February 1898 in Memphis, Tennessee, Lillian Hardin passed away on 27 August 1971 in Chicago, Illinois. A pianist with classical training, she built a strong reputation across Chicago during the 1920s through both her solo appearances and her work alongside the ensembles led by Sugar Johnny, Freddie Keppard, and King Oliver. While performing with Oliver she encountered the group’s newest member, Louis Armstrong, and the two soon married. Recognizing his extraordinary ability and driven by strong ambition on his behalf, Hardin urged him to form his own band and played an essential role in the celebrated Hot Five and Hot Seven sessions. Mounting personal differences eventually ended the marriage in divorce. In the years that followed she directed groups for club engagements as well as numerous radio broadcasts and recording sessions. Beginning in the 1950s her work centered on solo piano and vocal performances, primarily in Chicago, though she also appeared at festivals throughout the United States and Europe and performed in clubs on those continents. She occasionally composed, and one of her pieces, “Just For A Thrill,” received a recording by Ray Charles in the 1950s. Hardin died in 1971 during a memorial concert honoring Louis, who had passed away only weeks before.