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| - Billy Eckstine (8 July,1914 – 8 March, 1993), born William Clarence Eckstein in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a ballad singer and bandleader of the Swing Era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular music. Records from ancestry. com indicate that the singer has an interesting geneology. His grandparents were William F. Eckstein and Nannie Eckstein, a mixed race, lawfully married couple who lived in Washington D.C.; both were born in the year 1863. William F. was born in Prussia and Nannie in Virginia.An influence looming large in the cultural development of soul and R&B singers from Sam Cooke to Prince, Eckstine was able to play it straight on his pop hits "Prisoner of Love," "My Foolish Heart" and "I Apologize." Raised in Washington, D.C., Eckstine began singing at the age of seven and entered many amateur talent shows. He had also planned on a football career, but after breaking his collar bone, he made music his focus. After working his way west to Chicago, Eckstine joined Earl Hines' Grand Terrace Orchestra in 1939, staying with the band as vocalist and, occasionally, trumpeter, until 1943. By that time, he had begun to make a name for himself through the Hines band's radio shows with such juke box hits as "Stormy Monday Blues" and his own "Jelly Jelly." In 1944, Eckstine formed his own big band and made it a fountainhead for young musicians who would reshape jazz by the end of the decade, including Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, and Fats Navarro. Tadd Dameron and Gil Fuller were among the band's arrangers, and Sarah Vaughan gave the vocals a contemporary air. The Billy Eckstine Orchestra was the first bop big-band, and its leader reflected bop innovations by stretching his vocal harmonics into his normal ballads. Despite the group's modernist slant, Eckstine hit the charts often during the mid-'40s, with Top Ten entries including "A Cottage for Sale" and "Prisoner of Love." On the group's frequent European and American tours, Eckstine, popularly known as Mr. B, also played trumpet, valve trombone and guitar. After a few years of touring with road-hardened be-boppers, Eckstine became a solo performer in 1947, and seamlessly made the transition to string-filled balladry. He recorded more than a dozen hits during the late '40s, including "My Foolish Heart" and "I Apologize." He was one of the first artists to sign with the newly-established MGM Records, and had immediate hits with revivals of "Everything I Have Is Yours", Richard Rodgers’ and Lorenz Hart’s "Blue Moon", and Juan Tizol’s "Caravan" . He had further success in 1950 with Victor Young’s theme song to "My Foolish Heart" and a revival of the 1931 Bing Crosby hit, "I Apologize." However, unlike Nat "King" Cole, Eckstine’s singing, especially his exaggerated vibrato, sounded increasingly mannered and he was unable to sustain his recording success throughout the decade. While enjoying success in the middle-of-the-road and pop fields, Eckstine occasionally returned to his jazz roots, recording with Vaughan, Count Basie and Quincy Jones for separate LPs, and he regularly topped the Metronome and Downbeat polls in the Top Male Vocalist category. His 1950 appearance at the Paramount in New York drew a larger audience than Frank Sinatra had at his legendary Paramount performance. Among Eckstine's best records of the 1950s was a 1957 duet with Sarah Vaughan, "Passing Strangers," a minor hit in 1957, but a perennial hit in the UK. Even before folding his band, Eckstine had recorded solo to support it, scoring two million-sellers in 1945 with "Cottage for Sale" and a revival of "Prisoner of Love." Far more successful than his band recordings, though more mannered and pompously sung, these prefigured Eckstine’s future career. Where before black bands had played ballads, jazz and dance music, in the immediate post-war years they had to choose. The classic 1960 live in Las Vegas LP No Cover, No Minimum featured Eckstine taking a few trumpet solos as well. He recorded several albums for Mercury and Roulette during the early 1960s, and he appeared on Motown for a few standards albums during the mid-'60s. After recording very sparingly during the '70s for Al Bell's, Stax/Enterprise imprint, Eckstine, made his last recording, the Grammy-nominated Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter in 1986. Eckstine made numerous appearances on television variety shows, including "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Nat King Cole Show", "The Tonight Show" with Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson, "The Merv Griffin Show", "The Art Linkletter Show," "The Joey Bishop Show," "The Dean Martin Show," "The Flip Wilson Show," and "Playboy After Dark." He also performed as an actor in the TV sitcom "Sanford and Son," and in such films as Skirts Ahoy, Let's Do It Again, and Jo Jo Dancer. Eckstine was a style leader and noted sharp dresser. He designed and patented a high roll collar that formed a "B" over a Windsor-knotted tie, which became known as a "Mr. B. Collar." In addition to looking cool, the collar could expand and contract without popping open, which allowed his neck to swell while playing his horns. The collars were worn by many a hipster in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Legend has it that his refined appearance even had an effect on trumpeter Miles Davis: once, when Eckstine came across a dishevelled Davis in the depths of his heroin excess, his remark "Looking sharp, Miles" served as a wake-up call for Davis, who promptly returned to his father's farm in the winter of 1953 and finally kicked the habit.In 1984, Eckstine recorded his final album, I Am A Singer, featuring beautiful ballads arranged and conducted by Angelo DiPippo. Billy Eckstine died on March 8, 1993, aged 78. (en)
- Billy « Mr B » Eckstine né William Clarence était un chanteur, trompettiste, tromboniste à pistons et chef d'orchestre américain de jazz. Il est né à Pittsburgh en Pennsylvanie le 8 juillet 1914 et mort le 8 mars 1993. (fr)
- Billy Eckstine (Pittsburgh, 8 de julio de 1914 - Pittsburgh, 8 de marzo de 1993), cantante estadounidense de jazz y música popular. Poseedor de una voz de barítono, fue durante los años cuarenta una figura carismática de la música popular negra, al liderar una de las primeras big band de bop y convertirse en el primer cantante negro de baladas románticas (fue llamado el Sinatra negro). Con el paso de los años, su influencia ha sido considerable en el ámbito del soul y el rhythm and blues. (es)
- Divenuto famoso come cantante e leader di una grande orchestra attorno alla fine degli anni 1940, Eckstine (che era un afroamericano e aveva cambiato il suo nome da Eckstein, dopo che il proprietario di un locale gli aveva detto che il suo era troppo ebreo) ebbe anche una grande influenza sulla musica jazz moderna, e in particolare sul bebop, assumendo nelle sue orchestre molti dei più importanti esponenti di questa corrente musicale. Dopo aver trascoso gli anni dal 1940 al 1943 con l'orchestra di Earl Hines, Eckstine, che suonava anche la chitarra, la tromba e il trombone a pistoni, debuttò senza fortuna sulla cinquantaduesima strada, a New York come "Billy X. Stine, trionfandovi poi qualche anno più tardi con il suo nome e come leader di un'orchestra che nel corso della sua esistenza, annoverò tra i propri membri l'aristocrazia del jazz contemporaneo tra cui: Sassofoni: Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Lucky Thompson, Charlie Parker, Wardell Gray, Budd Johnson, Leo Parker Trombe: Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Fats Navarro Batteria: Art Blakey Voce: Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan Negli anni successivi Eckstine diresse un ottetto e poi lavorò come solista, divenendo un popolare cantante di ballad. La sua voce di potente baritono lo fece diventare uno dei primi cantanti afroamericani di successo presso il pubblico tradizionale della muscia leggera. Compose il blues "Jelly, Jelly", divenuto un classico, e registrò "Stormy Monday Blues" un pezzo di rhythm and blues che divenne un successo ed entrò in testa alle classifiche nel 1942. La maggior parte dei suoi successi è dovuta all'interpretazione di balla quali "Everything I have is Yours", Blue Moon, "Caravan", "Prisoner of Love"," "You Go to My Head," e "That Old Black Magic". Il suo ultimo successo fu "Passing Strangers", cantata in duetto con Sarah Vaughan nel 1957. Eckstin curava molto la sua immagine ed era un iniziatore di mode e tendenze, che inventò (e brevettò col nome di "Mr B. collar": Mr. B era il suo soprannome) un colletto per camicie che formava una B sopra una cravatta annodata alla Windsor: oltre al fattore estetico, il colletto era elastico e permetteva al collo di Mr. B di espandersi quando suonava la tromba senza dovere sbottonare il colletto. Il "Mr B. Collar" divenne un oggetto di moda tra molti hipster negli anni '40e anni '50. Nella sua autobiografia, Miles Davis ricorda Eckstine come una persona di carattere, molto decisa e costantemente circondato di bellissime donne. Eckstin registrò il suo ultimo album,"I am a singer", nel 1984. Si trattava di un album di ballad arrangiate e dirette da Angelo DiPippo. (it)
- Billy Eckstine (* 8. Juli 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania als William Clarence Eckstein; † 8. März 1993 ebda.) war ein US-amerikanischer Jazzsänger und Bandleader, der auch Trompete, Posaune und Gitarre spielte. Auch als Billy X. Stine trat er kurzzeitig auf. Sein Spitzname war Mr. B. Mit seiner Band übte er großen Einfluss auf die Entwicklung des Modern Jazz, vor allem auf den entstehenden Bebop aus. (de)
- William (Billy) Clarence Eckstein var en amerikansk jazzvokalist, musiker og bandleder. Hans førstepris for imitasjon av Cab Calloway under studietiden på Howard University, ga ham plass i Tommy Miles' orkester. Han var i Earl Hines' band ledet sitt eget storband bestående av saksofonbesetningen Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Lucky Thompson, Charlie Parker, Wardell Gray, Budd Johnson, Leo Parker; trompetrekken Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham og Fats Navarro, i tillegg til Art Blakey trommer og vokalistene Lena Horne og Sarah Vaughan. Senere ledet han en swing- og bebop-kombinerende oktett, før solokarrieren tok over. Hans siste innspilling var I am a singer (1984). (no)
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