Dardanelle Hadley  1917-1997
Dardanelle (Marcia Marie Mullen) Hadley
was born Dec. 27, 1917, and grew up in Avalon, Mississippi,
where she studied with Gladys Bacon, a Greenwood music teacher.
An internationally known singer and pianist, Dardanelle's father
Marcius Mosley "Buck" Mullen never studied music, never read
it, but could play anything, particularly ragtime. Dardanelle
once said she doesn't practice practice. Her "perfect"
execution on the piano is a gift from her father. Her
sister Marie was also a marvelous pianist, but she died at the
age of nineteen from the flu. Their grandmother closed
up the piano for seven years at Marie's death. The blue-eyed,
talented performer was nicknamed "Peter" or "Pete" as a child
because she was such a tomboy.
She majored in music at Louisiana State University and supported
herself by working as a house pianist at a local radio station.
Her name became "Dardanelle" from newspaper stories about the
Second World War in the strait of the Dardanelles.
 Musically
Dardanelle had an intricate, improvisional style which has labeled
her a "jazz musician." Her career included many recordings
and live performances from New York to London. In the
1940s, Dardanelle formed a trio which included herself on vibes
and piano, guitarist Tal Farlow and Paul Edenfield on bass.
After some successful touring, the group became resident at
New York City's famed Copacabana club.
In the 1950s, Dardanelle Hadley moved to Chicago where she
raised her family and supported herself as a staff pianist for
WGN-TV. She also worked on a highly regarded children's television
show called Lunchtime Little Theater where she was known as
Aunt Dody.
Dardanelle moved to New Jersey in the 1970's and formed a new
trio with her son "Skip" Hadley on drums. She performed
and recorded with Jazz stars Bucky Pizzarelli, George Duvivier,
and Grady Tate.
She appeared at many festivals and concerts and worked on
cruise ships and television programs. She played at the Cookery
and Carnegie Hall in New York. She was also a popular performer
in Tokyo, Japan, where she lived for some time. In 1984 Dardanelle
returned to Mississippi where she was an active radio and TV
personality, recording artist, and jazz performer (her second
son, Brian Hadley, often played bass with her). From 1986-1988
she was Artist in Residence at Ole Miss (the University of Mississippi).
Stories about her past were recorded during a radio show she
did in Senabobia for WJNC. WKNO in Memphis then picked
them up and in 1996 the vignettes ran on PRM. The cassette
is entitled "Dardanelle Down Home: The Way Things Used
to Be." The jazz legend died August 8, 1997, at the age of 79
in Memphis, Tennessee, of complications following heart surgery.
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Timeline
1917, Dec. 27 --born in Avalon, MS
1986-1988--Artist in Residence at Ole Miss.
1994 - moved to Winona, Mississippi.
1997, May--Classic cabaret performance at Lamar King Music
Hall in Confederate Memorial Building in Greenwood,
Mississippi. She was joined for the performance by Dr.
London Branch, a bassist, and Murray Kornfeld, a drummer.
1997 --Dardanelle died at age 79 from complications after
heart surgery
Dardanelle Down Home with the Loonis McGlohon
PERSONNEL: Dardanelle Hadley, vocals and vibes; Loonis McGlohon, piano;
arrangements, leader; Rob Brendle or Terry Peoples, bass; Bill Stowe, drums. 
TUNES: Dinner On the Ground; Moonlight Mississippi; Stars Fell On Alabama; Just A Little Bit South of North Carolina; Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans; Sweet Kentucky Ham; Georgia On My Mind; Birmingham; Memphis In June; Winchester in Apple Blossom Time; Atlanta G.A.; Blue Grass; Down to Steamboat Tennessee; New Orleans; Little Gray House; I'm Coming, Virginia.
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Bibliography
the Commonwealth (May 19, 1997), Greenwood, Mississippi
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