The Naptown Boogie Woogie Queen

March 24, 2024

This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue, celebrate Women’s History Month with music from the “Boogie Woogie Queen” Christine Chatman.

Chatman was born in Jackson, Tennessee in 1920 and she began playing piano at age 3. By age 15 Chatman was performing professionally and at 18 she was touring the midwest with the Leake Brothers Combo. During the early 1940s Chatman began living and working in Indianapolis. She started her own band and signed a contract with the Ferguson Brother’s Talent Agency, an artist management company based in the Indiana Avenue neighborhood. In 1944 Chatman released her debut single “Naptown Boogie”, a tribute to the city that helped launch her career.

Join us this week to learn more about the life and music of Christine Chatman.