Irene Higginbotham was born June 11th, 1918 in Worcester, MA. Her mother, Hart Jones Higginbotham, died just over a year after Irene was born. Her father, Garnett Roy Higginbotham raised her in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a tailor, educator and journalist and taught Irene piano. Irene began composing in her teens and studied music with Kemper Harreld and Frederick Hall while in Atlanta. She eventually talked her father into moving to New York with her so that she could become a songwriter. Her uncle, J. C. Higginbotham, was a famous trombone player working with Louis Armstrong in Red Allen’s band. A few of Irene’s first published and copyrighted tunes were written with her uncle. J.C. brought one of Irene’s tunes into a rehearsal with the Red Allen band. The tune was called Harlem Stomp. The group liked the tune so much that they recorded it on their next session and the rest is history!

Irene’s songwriting career spanned 1938-1977 and included jazz, country, doo-wop and pop tunes. In her incredibly prolific career, she wrote music with and for artists including Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday and many others. Her most famous tune, Good Morning Heartache, has become a jazz standard and is still regularly performed today. While her contribution to music was great, her story has not been told. Check in regularly for updates on a new documentary as well as a recording by Fumée of Irene’s music.