An extremely versatile singer and performer with extensive stage credentials alongside her vocal skills, Linda Hopkins has been a major artist since the early '50s. She has recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, done R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes, all with distinction and style. Hopkins has long idolized Bessie Smith and won critical plaudits for her rendition of Smith in the theatrical presentation Jazz Train. She has recorded for numerous labels since the '50s, but has only earned one chart hit, a duet with Jackie Wilson for Brunswick in 1963. Shake aHand narrowly missed the R&B Top 20, peaking at #21. She remains active, but with only a limited amount of material in circulation, especially on domestic labels.