Harold Joseph Singer was born in Greenwood, an African-American district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to father Charles and mother Anna Mae.

[4] On the advice of his father to pursue a "proper" career, Singer attended the Hampton Institute and graduated in 1939 with a degree in agriculture.

[2] From the late 1930s, Singer began performing in local bands, including Ernie Fields', before joining Jay McShann's orchestra in 1943 and then moving to New York.

In the early and mid-1950s, he recorded with Mercury, toured with R&B artists such as The Orioles and Charles Brown, and increasingly worked as a session musician.

He continued to record and also toured extensively around Europe and Africa, performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Charlie Watts.

Singer shared artist billing on a recording made in 1989, along with Al Copley, Royal Blue, released on the Black Top label in 1990.

Singer's 1969 album, Paris Soul Food, featuring him on saxophone and vocals; Robin Hemingway, vocals, arrangements and album production; and Manu Dibango, saxophone, organ and arrangements won a French Record Academy award for best international LP.