Welcome to the site! It was first established in 2008 for you folks; Freddie's family, fans and friends. Visit Freddie's Facebook tribute page by Scott Wikle here: https://www.facebook.com/FreddieHartHOF/
A message from Don Edwards:
I have been the publicity agent for Freddie for many years now and I"ve heard many songs he recorded that never have been put on cd’s. Some really great songs that you most likely missed hearing.
We have had a lot of fans wanting vinyl copies of Freddie’s work through the years, so, the webmaster and I have added a new section to the store page to offer you those older vinyl songs as we can obtain them.
We try to locate "NEW" copies, or at least "slightly used" vinyl LPs and 45's for you. At this point we have had great success in obtaining excellent quality, great sounding vinyl copies that are either "mint" (new) or "near mint" (used) copies of a lot of Freddie’s vinyl LPs and 45's. We check all vinyl products for the best possible sound quality and condition. There are times when an LP cover is not in perfect shape...but the LP inside is. Many of the LPs we sell are still in factory shrink wrap and never opened. With that said you can be sure you are getting a very playable record. Sometimes an LP or 45 may be just under near mint, but still sounds good on our studio equipment. If at any time you should order a copy that is not what you expect...(Except for the cover) please just let us know and we'll make it right. Either with another copy or a refund upon return to us within 20 days. So... take the time to check out the vinyl we are offering. Check out the many song titles Freddie recorded and you'll find songs that were only on vinyl. There are so many songs on these vinyl LP's that were never played on radio or jukeboxes. I sincerely hope you will listen to these great selections as they ALL should be heard by Freddie Hart fans!
We will be adding more VINYL in the next few weeks. THANKS FOR VISITING FREDDIE’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE.
Presenting The Heartbeats
Ask most musicians what the major key to a successful career is and they'll tell you: it's a great back-up band. With Freddie, it's the Heartbeats. The website staff recently did some in-depth research to bring you some interesting information about the Hearbeats members.
James Dawson Walters was the pedal steel guitar master of the Heartbeats. He grew up in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and lived in that area for the first 30 years of his life. Musical ability ran in the family; his mother and younger sister both played piano.
J. D. began playing music at the tender age of six. His father William Edward "Doc" Walters arranged for him to take steel guitar lessons on a cheap beginner six-string acoustic guitar that he'd bought.
It was difficult learning at first because J.D. had just started school and couldn't yet read or do basic math. It was difficult for him to understand the numbering chart method they used on the steel guitar. However, he persisted, and by Christmas time, he found he'd developed an "ear" for music and was able to pick out and play "Silent Night" and other Christmas tunes. His playing ability grew dramatically better. As a result, his father bought him a real six-string electric steel guitar.
As J. D.'s skills progressed, the influence of the western swing sounds of Pee Wee Whitewing, Bob White and Curly Chalker worked their way into his playing style. He was also influenced by Buddy Emmons. You can hear the unique blend of these styles when J. D. plays.
J.D.'s wife was expecting their first child when he first went to work with Freddie. They were so broke they didn't have any insurance. One day Freddie called him into the back room and gave him enough money to pay all of the expenses.
"Freddie was good to me," he was quoted as saying.
The money problem went bye-bye when "Easy Lovin'" hit the radio. In a September 14, 2000 article entitled "Hart concert reunites singer (with former steel player)," by John Wooley of Tulsa World Entertainment, J.D. chuckled as he was quoted as saying:
"I remember that we'd have to play it three or four times at every concert, especially the year it came out. We'd play two or three songs and people would start screaming for it. We'd play it, and then we'd play two or three more songs, and they'd start screaming for it again. I've played `Easy Lovin' ' so many times. I didn't write it, but it sure made me a great living."
In November 1986, J. D. and his wife Linda decided it was time to come off the road, so they packed up the family and moved from Nashville to Linda's hometown of Bellingham, Massachusetts. They wanted to give their children the quality time they needed. There, they worked in a local band called The Wyoming Machinery Company which included two of the former Heartbeats.
In that same article by John Wooley, Freddie was quoted as saying this about the man: "I can't say enough good about all the Heartbeats, and J.D. was the biggest component of that. He was a great leader, and, as a steel man, he can't be beat."
J. D. and his family eventually moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. He found himself in the same town that Bob and Johnnie Lee Wills built.
J.D. was inducted into the Pioneers of Western Swing in 2005.
More recently, he's been a member of the Brazos Valley Boys, a country/western swing band. Recently put out a couple of CD's; the first, entitled Remembering: Now and Then. J.D. Walters and Special Guests available for $15 plus shipping from their website at www.brazosvalleyboys.com. And, in 2013 he put out a CD entitled “Honolulu Tennessee,” featuring Duane Boyd.