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Hattie Leeper is a lifetime Charlottean and acquaintance to many of the greats, but most of all shes a mom and a friend to those who still call her Chatty Hattie.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Shes a native Charlottean who became a legendary radio personality. Her given name, recorded in the family Bible, is Hattie Leeper. By the time she was a teenager and on the air at WGIV radio, she was Chatty Hattie.

Back in those days, to help capture a big listening audience, radio DJs used names that rhymed. The Chatty worked well with Hattie, and did so for decades. She was the first black female radio DJ in Charlotte and one of the first in America.

Leeper began working for WGIV radio at the age of 14, helping around the station and learning the ropes from the stations group of seasoned announcers. By 1951, as 17-years-old, she was on the air with her own show. She stayed on the air for decades, becoming a household name in Charlotte and all across the Carolinas.

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She became involved in the music industry as well, managing a number of local music groups and even started her own record label, called Aware Records.

She also wrote and produced a number of regional hits for the label and traveled to Chicago and New York City to do the sessions. This was at the invitation of some of the top management in the business, including the legendary Jerry Wexler, the President of Atlantic Records. Leeper wrote the liner notes for many of the top artists of that time, including Aretha and Patti Labelle.

Leeper also had other goals in her life, like higher education. She earned a Masters in Education Administration at Central Piedmont Community College. Soon afterward, she became a college instructor. Eventually, Leeper served as the Dean of the Communications Department at Gaston Collegeand held that position for eleven years. She left there and became the founder and owner of her own very successful local record stores.

Over the years, Hattie Leeper has received many awards and was honored numerous times. Earlier this month she was given one of the biggest honors of her life: induction into the National Black Radio Hall of Fame. This was at a ceremony at the Harris Stowe State University's Emerson Theatre in St. Louis. Others honored at the same time were Al Sharpton and the members of the legendary R&B group The O'Jays

Hattie Leeper is a radio legend, record producer, songwriter, published author, educator, broadcast executive, and music historian. More than anything shes a lifetime Charlottean and acquaintance to many of the greats, but most of all shes a mom and a friend to all of those who still call her Chatty Hatty. Shes spinning the tunes from Belmont to Boone and all the way to the moon.and still rhyming after all these years.

Contact Larry Sprinkle atlsprinkle@wcnc.comand follow him onFacebook,TwitterandInstagram.

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Charlotte radio legend 'Chatty Hattie' inducted into Black Radio Hall of Fame - WCNC.com