William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993)[1] was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice.[2] In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award "for performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording". His recording of "I Apologize" (MGM, 1951) was given the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. The New York Times described him as an "influential band leader" whose "suave bass-baritone" and "full-throated, sugary approach to popular songs inspired singers such as Earl Coleman, Johnny Hartman, Joe Williams, Arthur Prysock, and Lou Rawls."[3]
Early life and education
Eckstine was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States,[4] the son of William Eckstein, a chauffeur, and Charlotte Eckstein, a seamstress. Eckstine's paternal grandparents were William F. Eckstein and Nannie Eckstein, a mixed-race, married couple who lived in Washington, D.C.; both were born in 1863. William was born in Prussia (now Germany), and Nannie in Virginia.[5] Billy's sister, Maxine, was a high school teacher.[6]
Heading to Chicago, Illinois, Eckstine joined Earl Hines' Grand Terrace Orchestra in 1939, staying with the band as vocalist and trumpeter until 1943.[4] By that time, Eckstine had begun to make a name for himself through the Hines band's juke-box hits, such as "Stormy Monday Blues", and his own "Jelly, Jelly".
Dizzy Gillespie, in reflecting on the band in his 1979 autobiography To Be or Not to Bop, gives this perspective: "There was no band that sounded like Billy Eckstine's. Our attack was strong, and we were playing bebop, the modern style. No other band like this one existed in the world." In 1946 Eckstine starred as the hero in the musical film Rhythm in a Riff, which also starred Ann Baker and Lucky Millinder.[13][14]
Eckstine became a solo performer in 1947, with records featuring lush, sophisticated orchestrations.[4] 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, these prefigured Eckstine's future career. Eckstine would go on to record over a dozen hits during the late 1940s.[4] He signed with the newly established MGM Records, and had immediate hits with revivals of "Everything I Have Is Yours" (1947), Rodgers and Hart's "Blue Moon" (1948), and Juan Tizol's "Caravan" (1949).
According to The New York Times, his 1950 appearance at the Paramount Theatre in New York City drew a larger audience than Frank Sinatra had done at his performance there.[15] He was even called "the sepia Sinatra" for his rivalry of the country's most popular vocalist.[16]
Eckstine was the subject of a three-page profile in the April 24, 1950 issue of Life magazine, in which the photographer Martha Holmes accompanied Eckstine and his entourage during a week in New York City.[17] One photograph taken by Holmes and published in Life showed Eckstine with a group of white female admirers, one of whom had her hand on his shoulder and her head on his chest while she was laughing. Eckstine's biographer, Cary Ginell, wrote of the image that Holmes "...captured a moment of shared exuberance, joy, and affection, unblemished by racial tension".[18] Holmes would later describe the photograph as the favorite of the many she had taken in her career, because it "...told just what the world should be like".[18][19] The photograph was considered so controversial that an editor at Life sought personal approval from Henry Luce, the magazine's publisher, who said it should be published.[20] The publication of the image caused letters of protest to be written to the magazine, and singer Harry Belafonte subsequently said of the publication that "When that photo hit, in this national publication, it was if a barrier had been broken".[21] The controversy that resulted from the photograph had a severe effect on the trajectory of Eckstine's career. Tony Bennett would recall that "It changed everything...Before that, he had a tremendous following...and it just offended the white community", a sentiment shared by pianist Billy Taylor who said that the "coverage and that picture just slammed the door shut for him".[22]
Among Eckstine's recordings of the 1950s was a 1957 duet with Sarah Vaughan, "Passing Strangers", a minor hit for them in 1957,[4] but an initial No. 22 success in the UK Singles Chart.[1]
The 1960 Las Vegas live album, No Cover, No Minimum, featured Eckstine taking a few trumpet solos and showcasing his nightclub act. He recorded albums for Mercury and Roulette in the early 1960s and appeared on Motown albums during the mid to late years of the decade. After recording sparingly during the 1970s for Al Bell's Stax/Enterprise imprint, the international touring Eckstine made his last recording, the Grammy-nominated Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter in 1986.
Culturally, Eckstine was a fashion icon. He was famous for his "Mr. B. Collar" – a high roll collar that formed a "B" over a Windsor-knotted tie (or without a tie at all). The collars were worn by many a hipster in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
He married his first wife June in 1942. After their divorce in 1952, he married actress and model Carolle Drake in 1953, and they remained married until his death. He was the father of four children by his second marriage including Ed Eckstine, a president of Mercury Records; Guy Eckstine, a Columbia and Verve Records A&R executive and record producer; international singer Charlotte Eckstine; and singer Gina Eckstine.
Illness and death
Eckstine suffered a stroke while performing in Salina, Kansas, in April 1992, and never performed again. Though his speech improved in the hospital, Eckstine had a heart attack and died nearly a year later on March 8, 1993, in Pittsburgh, aged 78. In the weeks leading up to his death, his family members played music for him in his room.[25] His final word was "Basie".[26]
A State Historical Marker was placed at 5913 Bryant Street in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood to mark the house where Eckstine grew up.[27][28]
Tributes
His friend Duke Ellington recalled Eckstine's artistry in his 1973 autobiography Music is My Mistress:
Eckstine-style love songs opened new lines of communication for the man in the man-woman merry-go-round, and blues a la B were the essence of cool. When he made a recording of "Caravan", I was happy and honored to watch one of our tunes help take him into the stratosphere of universal acclaim. And, of course, he hasn't looked back since. A remarkable artist, the sonorous B. ... His style and technique have been extensively copied by some of the neocommercial singers, but despite their efforts, he remains out front to show how and what should have been done.
Sammy Davis Jr. made several live appearances and impersonated Eckstine. Eckstine was a pallbearer at Davis' funeral in 1990.[citation needed][29]
I looked up to Mr. B as an idol. I wanted to dress like him, talk like him, pattern my whole life as a musician and as a complete person in the image of dignity that he projected.... As a black man, Eckstine was not immune to the prejudice that characterized the 1950s.[30]
Jones is quoted in Leonard Feather's book The Pleasures of Jazz as also saying of Eckstine:
If he'd been white, the sky would have been the limit. As it was, he didn't have his own radio or TV show, much less a movie career. He had to fight the system, so things never quite fell into place."[31]
He was one of the greatest singers of all time.... We were proud of him because he was the first Black popular singer singing popular songs in our race. We, the whole music profession, were so happy to see him achieve what he was doing. He was one of the greatest singers of that era.... He was our singer."[32]
Discography
10" LP releases
1940: Earl Hines – Billy Eckstine [Record 1: "Stormy Monday Blues" // "Water Boy"; Record 2: "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" // "Somehow"; Record 3: "Jelly, Jelly" // "Skylark"] (RCA Victor) 3x78rpm album set
1949: Billy Eckstine Sings (National) – recorded 1945–1947
1960: Mr. B: The Great Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra (Audio Lab) – 12" LP reissue of The Great Mr. B from DeLuxe/King.
1963: Billy & Sarah – with Sarah Vaughan (Lion) – compilation
1971: Billy Eckstine Together (Spotlite) – 1945 live "radio broadcast" recordings
1979: Billy Eckstine Sings (Savoy Jazz) – compilation
1986: Mister B. and the Band: The Savoy Sessions (Savoy Jazz) – compilation
1986: I Want To Talk About You (Xanadu) – this compilation features Eckstine's earliest recordings, 13 selections taken from his 1940–1942 Bluebird sides with the Earl Hines Orchestra; album is rounded out by three ballads taken from a 1945 live "radio broadcast" with his own big band.
1991: Everything I Have Is Yours: The Best Of The MGM Years (Verve) – two-CD anthology with 42 tracks (note: the original 2-LP set was issued in 1985 with just 30 tracks)
1991: Compact Jazz: Billy Eckstine (Verve) – compilation
1994: Jazz 'Round Midnight: Billy Eckstine (Verve) – compilation
1994: Verve Jazz Masters (Volume 22): Billy Eckstine (Verve) – compilation
1996: Air Mail Special (Drive Archive) – reissue of the 1945 live "radio broadcast" recordings.
1996: The Magnificent Mr. B (Flapper/Pearl) – anthology/compilation of material recorded with Earl Hines (for the Bluebird label), and Eckstine's recordings with his orchestra (for the DeLuxe and National labels).
1997: The Chronological Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra 1944–1945 (Classics) – anthology/compilation
1999: The Chronological Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra 1946–1947 (Classics) – anthology/compilation
2001: Mr. B (ASV/Living Era) – anthology/compilation
2005: Early Mr. B: 1940–1953 (Jazz Legends) – anthology/compilation of material recorded with Earl Hines (for the Bluebird label), and Eckstine's recordings with his orchestra (for the DeLuxe, National and MGM labels).
2006: Prisoner of Love: The Romantic Billy Eckstine (Savoy Jazz) – this is a reissue of Timeless Billy Eckstine.
2008: All of My Life (Jasmine) – two-CD anthology (contains 35 tracks recorded for the MGM label; also includes all 10 of his 1956 RCA recordings; and 10 of his 1957–1958 Mercury recordings).
References
^ abRoberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 178. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
^Feather, Leonard, The Pleasures of Jazz: Leading Performers on Their Lives, Their Music, Their Contemporaries. New York: Horizon Press, 1976. Dell edition, 1977, p. 127.
^"Billy Eckstine Cremated Following Private Rites; Stars Pay Tribute to Him". Jet. Vol. 83, no. 22. March 29, 1993. p. 18. ISSN0021-5996.
Kecelakaan pesawat Antonov An-72 2012Pesawat militer Antonov An-72 yang kecelakaanRingkasan kecelakaanTanggal25 Desember 2012RingkasanJatuh saat terbang dalam cuaca burukLokasiShymkent, KazakhstanPenumpang20Awak7Tewas27Selamat0Jenis pesawatAntonov An-72-100OperatorMiliter KazakhstanRegistrasiUP-72859AsalAstanaTujuanShymkent Pada tanggal 25 Desember 2012, sebuah Antonov An-72-100 dengan nomor registrasi UP-72859[1] yang dioperasikan oleh militer Kazakhstan, jatuh sekitar 20 kilome...
Hypsugo pulveratus Hypsugo pulveratus Status konservasiRisiko rendahIUCN17360 TaksonomiKerajaanAnimaliaFilumChordataKelasMammaliaOrdoChiropteraFamiliVespertilionidaeTribusVespertilioniniGenusHypsugoSpesiesHypsugo pulveratus (Peters, 1870) Tata namaSinonim taksonPipistrellus pulveratus (Peters, 1870)ProtonimVesperugo pulveratus lbs Hypsugo pulveratus adalah sebuah spesies kelelawar biasa dalam keluarga Vespertilionidae. Spesies tersebut ditemukan di Tiongkok, Laos, Thailand, dan Vietnam. Refer...
Halaman ini berisi artikel tentang film tahun 2001. Untuk film tahun 2010, lihat Dead Awake (film 2010). Dead AwakePosterSutradaraMarc S. GrenierProduser Joanne Forgues Marc S. Grenier Avi Lerner(produser eksekutif) Martha Fernandez(produser lini) Ditulis olehTerry AbrahamsonPemeran Stephen Baldwin Macha Grenon Michael Ironside Penata musikE.P. BergenSinematograferDavid FrancoPenyuntingYvann ThibaudeauPerusahaanproduksi Locomotion Films Nu Image Films Distributor Lions Gate Films (Kanad...
Indian Airline Ventura AirConnectFounded2010Commenced operations7 September 2011Operating basesSurat International AirportFleet size3Destinations5Parent companyDiamond AeronauticsHeadquartersSurat, Gujarat, IndiaKey peopleManubhai Sojitra, CEOWebsitewww.flyairconnect.com Ventura AirConnect is an Indian nonscheduled airline operating flights in the state of Gujarat with Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft in its fleet. Initially operating flights within Madhya Pradesh, the airline shifted to Gujarat u...
Indian vocalist (1932–2020) Shanti HiranandShanti HiranandBorn1932 (1932)Lucknow, British IndiaDied(2020-04-10)April 10, 2020 (aged 87)Gurugram, IndiaKnown forHindustani musicAwardsPadma Shri (2007) Shanti Hiranand (Hindi : शान्ती हीरानंद) (1932 – 10 April 2020) was an Indian vocalist, classical musician and writer, known for her proficiency as a ghazal singer. She was the author of the book Begum Akhtar: The Story of My Ammi, a biographical work o...
لمعانٍ أخرى، طالع كوبورغ (توضيح). كوبورغ الإحداثيات 43°58′00″N 78°10′00″W / 43.966666666667°N 78.166666666667°W / 43.966666666667; -78.166666666667 [1] تاريخ التأسيس 1798 تقسيم إداري البلد كندا[2][3] خصائص جغرافية المساحة 22.37 كيلومتر مربع ارتفاع 173 متر عدد ...
هذه المقالة بحاجة لصندوق معلومات. فضلًا ساعد في تحسين هذه المقالة بإضافة صندوق معلومات مخصص إليها. يفتقر محتوى هذه المقالة إلى الاستشهاد بمصادر. فضلاً، ساهم في تطوير هذه المقالة من خلال إضافة مصادر موثوق بها. أي معلومات غير موثقة يمكن التشكيك بها وإزالتها. (أغسطس 2020) هذه الص...
American racing driver (born 1959) For other people named Mark Martin, see Mark Martin (disambiguation). NASCAR driver Mark MartinMartin at Auto Club Speedway in 2023BornMark Anthony Martin (1959-01-09) January 9, 1959 (age 65)Batesville, Arkansas, U.S.Achievements1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005 IROC Champion1978, 1979, 1980, 1986 ASA National Tour Champion1993, 2009 Southern 500 Winner2002 Coca-Cola 600 Winner1995, 1997 Winston 500 Winner1998, 2005 NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge Winner19...
لمعانٍ أخرى، طالع العربة (توضيح). مجموعة العربة السعودية هي شركة سعودية لصناعة السيارات أنشئت عام 1980 يرأسها المهندس فوزي أيوب صبري والتي تتخذ من الرياض مقر لها كانت متخصصة في بدايتها في المقاولات العامة وتجارة السيارات. منذ 25 سنة مضت عملت الشركة في تعديل السيارات وأص...
1426 هـمعلومات عامةجزء من تقويم هجري تاريخ البدء 10 فبراير 2005[1] تاريخ الانتهاء 30 يناير 2006[1]31 يناير 2006 تصنيف مواليد هذا الزمن تصنيف وفيات هذا الزمن لديه جزء أو أجزاء محرم 1426 هـصفر 1426 هـربيع الأول 1426 هـ 1425 هـ 1427 هـ تعديل - تعديل مصدري - تعديل ويكي بيانات قرن: قرن 14 - قرن 15 - ق�...
2005 video by Deep PurpleLive in California 74Video by Deep PurpleReleasedNovember 21, 2005RecordedApril 6, 1974GenreHard rockHeavy metalLength117:00 (DVD)85:58, 1974 concert13:23, Alt camera angles10:18, Super 8 mm film7:20, Archive previewLabelEMI – Eagle Rock EntertainmentProducerDrew Thomson T2 MediaTony Edwards DP (0)Deep Purple video chronology Live in Concert 72/73(1972) Live in California 74(2005) Rises Over Japan(1975) Live in California 74 is a live DVD of the first Calif...
Recipient of the Purple Heart medal In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cartagena and the second or maternal family name is de Jesús. Modesto CartagenaSergeant First Class Modesto CartagenaBorn(1921-07-21)July 21, 1921Cayey, Puerto RicoDiedMarch 2, 2010(2010-03-02) (aged 88)Guayama, Puerto RicoPlace of burialPuerto Rico National Cemetery in Bayamón, Puerto RicoAllegiance United States of AmericaService/branch United States ArmyYears of service1942�...
← червень → Пн Вт Ср Чт Пт Сб Нд 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2024 рік 9 червня — 160-й день року (161-й у високосні роки) в григоріанському календарі. До кінця року залишається 205 днів. Цей день в історії: 8 червня—9 червня—10 червня Зміст 1...
У этого топонима есть и другие значения, см. Пекин. У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. Северная столица. Город центрального подчиненияПекинкит. упр. 北京, пиньинь Běijīng По часовой стрелке, начиная сверху: Врата Небесного Спокойствия, Храм Неба, Национальный це...
18th-century English Baroque country house on the Isle of Wight Appuldurcombe HouseGeneral informationTypeHouseArchitectural styleEnglish BaroqueLocationWroxallCoordinates50°37′03″N 1°13′59″W / 50.617633°N 1.233124°W / 50.617633; -1.233124Construction started1702Design and constructionArchitect(s)John James Appuldurcombe House (also spelt Appledorecombe or Appledore Combe) is the shell of a large 18th-century English Baroque country house of the Worsley fam...
Iglesia de San Francisco Iglesia de San Francisco is a church in the Spanish city of Ceuta, bordering northern Morocco. It stands at the side of the Plaza de los Reyes, and is a distinctive Baroque twin-towered yellow building.[1] It was built in the early eighteenth century in honour of the Holy Cross and is noted for its Baroque altarpieces and images of the Virgin and Christ.[2] References ^ Clammer, Paul (1 February 2009). Morocco. Lonely Planet. p. 191. ISBN 978...
fleuve Turanganui Cette photo à partir de Kaiti Hill montre plus de la moitié du court fleuve Turanganui River. La confluence des rivières Taruheru et Waimata est visible sur la droite vers le haut au niveau du pont routier. Caractéristiques Longueur 1,2 km Bassin collecteur Baie de la Pauvreté Cours Origine confluence de rivière Taruheru et de la rivière Waimata Embouchure océan Pacifique · Localisation à l’extrémité nord de la baie de la Pauvreté · Altitude 0 m G�...
1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler For other uses, see The Best Years of Our Lives (disambiguation). The Best Years of Our LivesTheatrical release posterDirected byWilliam WylerScreenplay byRobert E. SherwoodBased onGlory for Me1945 novellaby MacKinlay KantorProduced bySamuel GoldwynStarring Myrna Loy Fredric March Dana Andrews Teresa Wright Virginia Mayo CinematographyGregg TolandEdited byDaniel MandellMusic by Hugo Friedhofer (composer) Emil Newman (musical director) Product...