Frederick Segrest, known professionally as Freddie Hart, was born on December 21, 1926, in Loachapoka, Alabama. He learned to play guitar at five and joined the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II at fifteen. After the war, Hart moved to California. His early career breakthrough came when Carl Smith covered his song "Loose Talk" in 1955. In 1953, Hart signed his first recording contract with Capitol Records. He later scored hits with Columbia Records, including "The Wall" in 1959 and "The Key’s In The Mailbox" in 1960. Moving to Kapp Records, he had several Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1968, notably "Hank Williams' Guitar" and "Togetherness". In 1969, Hart re-signed with Capitol Records and achieved his greatest success with the song "Easy Loving", which topped the country charts for three weeks and reached number 17 on the pop chart, winning awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Following this, he had a string of Top 5 hits including "My Hang-Up Is You" and "Bless Your Heart". In the late 1970s and 1980s, he continued to have major hits but with less frequency. Hart's later years included his induction into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2001 and the release of several gospel albums. He continued to perform at music festivals until his death on October 27, 2018.
![The Hart Of Country - [The Dave Cash Collection]](https://cdn-images.dzcdn.net/images/cover/0e361933afc19bfae180833bd2b7561e/120x120-000000-80-0-0.jpg)
