Bay Area

IN MEMORIAM: Oakland Vocalist Freddie Hughes, 78

“(Freddie Hughes) was the epitome of the likes of Johnny Mathis,” noted Tillman Smith. “That’s how impressive he was. Most people have no knowledge of his schooling or if he ever had a job, but they do remember his love for singing. Every time you saw Freddie, he was always handing out his latest CD.”

Published

4 years ago

February 7, 2022

Oakland Post

Freddie Hughes passed away unexpectedly from leukemia and complications from COVID-19 on Jan. 18, 2022. He was 78 years old.

By Clifford L. Williams

Freddie Hughes, one of the most gifted vocalists and a great human being, passed away unexpectedly from leukemia and complications from COVID-19 on Jan. 18, 2022, according to drummer, songwriter and producer Paul Tillman Smith. He was 78 years old.

Hughes was born on Aug. 20, 1943, in Berkeley to parents who moved West from Texas seeking the plentiful jobs during WWII.

His father, Fred W. Hughes, was a longshoreman and pastor who helped found Oakland’s Good Samaritan Church of God in Christ, and his mother Lola Mae Anderson was a singer and missionary.

“Freddie has been singing and recording since a young child and had a huge hit in 1968 with the recording of ‘Send My Baby Back,’ said Tillman Smith. “The song showcased Hughes for the public at a time when everyone in the music business in the Bay was trying to find a way to get through…to find their niche.”

Hughes’ son Derick, a former lead vocalist with Tower of Power, has followed in his father’s footsteps, having recorded with Motown and Prince, and toured extensively with Roberta Flack.

Freddie and Derick are featured performers on a new CD, sponsored by the Bay Area Jazz Society and the West Coast Blues Society called “The Sounds of Oakland” to be released this month throughout the nation. The CD celebrates the legacy of East Bay soul and R&B.

“(Hughes) was the epitome of the likes of Johnny Mathis,” noted Tillman Smith. “That’s how impressive he was. Most people have no knowledge of his schooling or if he ever had a job, but they do remember his love for singing. Every time you saw Freddie, he was always handing out his latest CD.”

The East Bay Times noted that “Hughes was held in the highest esteem by his peers during the past six decades and was a pillar of the Bay Area music scene. Hughes played a central role in shaping the sound of East Bay soul during a pervasively influential era defined by church-reared Black vocalists bringing the fervent cadences of gospel music to secular settings.”

Oakland blues artist Johnny Talbot, a close friend of Hughes, said that his relationship with Hughes started in church when they were teenagers. “It was me, Freddie, Walter and Edwin Hawkins who sang in the choir at the Good Samaritan God in Christ Pentecostal Church,” said Talbot. “When Freddie was just 13, he sang lead in the grown-up choir, and the grown folks couldn’t take that away from him. That’s how good he was.”

Hughes is survived by his brother, Wayne Hughes of Oakland; five children, Sonia Hughes Farmah of Hanford, Derick Hughes of Oakland, Derene Hughes Jones of Alameda, Lena Hughes, and Jelani Hughes; 23 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, at 11 a.m. at the Lily of the Valley Christian Center, located at 1010 91st Ave., Oakland. A repast will be held at 1 p.m. at St. Augustine Episcopal Church, located at 501 29th St. in Oakland.

The Bay Area Jazz Society, a 501(c)(3) organization, is asking the public to help raise money for Hughes’ memorial and burial. Hughes spent his lifetime performing throughout the Bay Area but didn’t leave behind a pension or available savings. The goal is to raise $20,000 in this effort. Please consider making a donation to www.gofundme/money-for-freddiehughes. For more information, contact Tillman Smith at 510-697-7130.

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Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.