1. Frederick Segrest, known professionally as Freddie Hart, was an American country musician and songwriter best known for his chart-topping country song and lone pop hit "Easy Loving," which won the Country Music Association Song of the Year award in 1971 and 1972.
Freddie Hart performed at music festivals and other venues until his death in 2018.
Freddie Hart learned to play guitar at age 5 and quit school by age 12.
At age 15, Freddie Hart lied about his age to join the US Marine Corps during World War II, seeing combat action on Guam and Iwo Jima.
Freddie Hart got an early career break when singer Carl Smith covered Freddie Hart's song "Loose Talk" in 1955.
Freddie Hart released several singles including his version of "Loose Talk", but none of these were successful.
In 1958, Freddie Hart signed with Columbia Records and scored his first chart hit with "The Wall" in 1959 which made the Top 20.
Freddie Hart's biggest hit for the label was the 1960 Top 20 hit "The Key's In The Mailbox".
In 1965, Freddie Hart signed with Kapp Records where he would score several Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1968.
In 1969, Freddie Hart re-signed with Capitol Records and soon became a part of the Bakersfield sound by signing up with Buck Owens' songwriting and management company.
Freddie Hart has been called by many fans as "The Heart and Soul of Country Music".
In 1980, Freddie Hart signed with Sunbird Records, and immediately scored a Top 20 hit with "Sure Thing" that year.
Freddie Hart followed this up with three Top 40 hits in 1981.
In 2001, Freddie Hart was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
Freddie Hart released a handful of new albums on CD, showcasing his passion for gospel music, patriotism and the traditional country sound that originally made him famous.
Freddie Hart retained a large following in Europe and the US, performing at music festivals, universities, churches and industry events.
Freddie Hart continued to write and record gospel music during the 2000s.
Freddie Hart received numerous awards and had several number one songs in the gospel field.
Freddie Hart sang a new song he had written and just recorded about Lefty Frizzell, titled simply "Lefty".
Freddie Hart died as a result of pneumonia on October 27,2018, in Burbank, California.