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. Eckstine was a pallbearer at Davis' funeral in 1990. ), A high stiff collar such as the Canadian hockey commentator/celebrity, A wide stiff buttoned collar forming part of the uniform of, A collar with rectangular points falling over the chest, worn in the 17th century and remaining part of, A standing collar with the points pressed to stick out. 
He was one of the greatest singers of that era He was our singer.. He was also quite popular in Britain, hitting the Top Ten there twice during the '50s -- "No One But You" and "Gigi" -- as well as several duet entries with Sarah Vaughan. They were also known as "millstone collars" after their shape. Eckstine became known for his resounding and near-operatic bass-baritone. (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette). Among clothing construction professionals, a collar is differentiated from other necklines such as revers and lapels, by being made from a separate piece of fabric, rather than a folded or cut part of the same piece of fabric used for the main body of the garment. A collar that covers all or most of the neck, popular among women in Edwardian times. First hit: Stormy Monday Blues, as the featured vocalist for Earl Hines Orchestra in 1942. A small standing collar, open at the front, based on traditional Manchu or Mongol-influenced. However, unlike Nat King Cole (who followed him into the pop charts), Eckstines singing, especially his exaggerated vibrato, sounded increasingly mannered and he was unable to sustain his recording success throughout the decade. Names for specific styles of collars vary with the vagaries of fashion. The Billy Eckstine Orchestra was the first bop big-band group, and its leader reflected bop innovations by stretching his vocal harmonics into his normal ballads. I Apologize (Edit) Billy Eckstine 5. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. He died in Pittsburgh in March 1993. In 1984, Eckstine recorded his penultimate album, I Am a Singer, arranged and conducted by Angelo DiPippo and featuring Toots Thielemans on harmonica. WebEckstine was an American singer of ballads and bandleader of the swing era. 
[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). 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. In 1939, he sought his musical fortune in Chicago. My Foolish Heart Billy Eckstine 2. A flat V-shaped collar often found on blouses. By contrast, in Slavic countries, including at least Poland, and Ukraine, the top button is buttoned even in the absence of a tie. Blue Moon Billy Eckstine 8. This type of collar is believed to originate from the Jebba, a, A folded collar pointing down, as opposed to a turned-up collar, such as a Wing collar; created by, A close-fitting knitted collar that folds over and covers the neck, An otherwise flat, protruding collar of either a shirt (especially a, A large collar with deep points standing high on the neck and falling onto the shoulders, usually trimmed with lace or. Alternate titles: William Clarence Eckstein. Later, he won an amateur competition by singing Stardust at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. For a time, he worked as a singing waiter at the Fort Pitt Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh. He drew record-breaking crowds in New York and Los Angeles. (Currently worn styles are turndown, tab, and dog collars; as well as historical styles such as Imperial or Gladstone. Born in Pittsburgh but raised in Washington, D.C., Eckstine began singing at the age of seven and entered many amateur talent shows. He designed and patented a high roll collar that formed a B over a Windsor-knotted tie, which became known as a Mr. Everything I Have Is Yours Billy Eckstine 9. 
Hits included Blue Moon, Caravan, I Apologize, My Foolish Heart and Everything I Have is Yours. By 1949, he was the top male vocalist in Metronome magazine and the most popular singer in Down Beat magazine. The collars were worn by many a hipster in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Collar." His friend Duke Ellington recalled Eckstines 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. [7] After high school, he moved to Washington, D.C. where he attended Armstrong High School, St. Paul Normal and Industrial School, and Howard University. Often seen in blazers and blouses with business suits. He was our singer."[24]. In November 1986, Eckstine recorded with saxophonist Benny Carter for his 1987 album Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter. So when we're getting ready to leave, I'd get some of the guys to stand around the piano as though we were talking, and I'd reach in and pull all the strings and all the mallets out. Hines gave Eckstine an additional job in the trumpet section, and Eckstine also learnt to play the valve trombone. A high standing pleated collar popular in the renaissance period made of starched linen or lace, or a similar fashion popular late seventeenth century and again in the early nineteenth century. 
The Billy Eckstine Orchestra featured jazz trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Kenny Dorham, saxophone players Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt and drummer Art Blakey, another Pittsburgh native. There was an old, rotten cracker in the coach behind us, and he did a lot of eating. 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. 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. Updates? Billy Eckstine, original name William Clarence Eckstein, (born July 8, 1914, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.died March 8, 1993, Pittsburgh), American singer and bandleader who achieved great personal success while fostering the careers of a number of younger jazz musicians. His parents were William Eckstein, a chauffeur and Charlotte Eckstein. And, of course, he hasnt looked back since. He signed a successful five-year contract with MGM Records which, apart from the bulk of commercial numbers, included two distinguished jazz sets with the George Shearing Quintet and with a studio band led by Woody Herman. 
Timeless: Billy Eckstine. Out in the Cold Again. [2] [3] Four stylii were used to transfer this record. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. On the way back north the band travelled in what they called a Jim-Crow car. His huge, distinctive baritone made him one of the first African American singers to have mainstream success. His last hit was "Passing Strangers", a duet with Sarah Vaughan released in 1957. 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. A flat, round-cornered collar, named after the collar of the costume worn in 1905 by actress, A round, flat, limp collar based on the costume worn by the, A soft shirt collar, often with long points, worn by, A style of wearing a collar unfolded and high against the neck, made popular in the early 1980s with, A collar tied in a large bow under the wearer's chin. Eckstine was a style leader and noted sharp dresser. After disbanding his group, Eckstine embarks on a solo vocal career, becoming one of the post-WWII eras biggest stars, reeling off hit after hit and attracting huge, enthusiastic integrated audiences. Old Pittsburgh photos and stories | The Digs, History Unfolded: U.S. newspapers and the Holocaust, Robert Lansberry: Pittsburghs most famous street protester. WebWilliam Clarence Eckstine was an American singer who specialised in the jazz and pop genre. During the medieval period and sporadically thereafter, people wore ornamental collars as a form of jewelry. 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 to late 1960s. His recording of "I Apologize" (MGM, 1948) was given the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. Eckstine was a style leader and noted sharp dresser. 'He worked with us at the New York Paramount once, and it was a ball hearing him five shows a day. More understandable was another kind of violence Eckstine indulged in. Collar." A detachable collar made of fabric or chains that is worn by Freemasons of high rank or office. [4] The Billy Eckstine Orchestra is considered to be the first bebop big-band,[4] and had Top Ten chart entries that included "A Cottage for Sale" and "Prisoner of Love". William F. was born in Prussia and Nannie in Virginia. WebEnglish. After recording sparingly during the 1970s for Al Bells, Stax/Enterprise imprint, Eckstine (although still performing to adoring audiences throughout the world), made his last recording, the Grammy-nominated Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter in 1986. Jones is quoted in The Pleasures of Jazz as also saying of Eckstine: If he'd been white, the sky would have been the limit. He designed and patented a high roll collar that formed a "B" over a Windsor-knotted tie, which became known as a "Mr. B. Billy 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. Access the complete album info (14 songs) 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. ALTHOUGH Billy Eckstine has always been recognised as one of the most tasteful of popular singers, he also made a most vital contribution to jazz with the big band which he led for three years from 1944. '. After forming his own big band that year, he hired all three and gradually recruited still more modernist figures and future stars: Wardell Gray, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Fats Navarro, and Art Blakey, as well as arrangers Tadd Dameron and Gil Fuller. Movie-star handsome with an elegant pencil-thin mustache and a wide vibrato, Eckstine possessed one of the most magnificent voices in Thank you for registering! When Dizzy Gillespie, a great teacher, joined the band, Eckstine persuaded him to teach him to play trumpet. Singer, bandleader. The same as the wing collar, but with rounded tips. He toured with pianist George Shearing and loved to play golf, shooting in the low eighties. His popularity demanded that he devote most of his time to his night-club ballad work, and although he always remained fervently interested in jazz and still included it in his act, his enormously successful duets with Sarah Vaughan, the 1957 'Passing Strangers' amongst them, were all targeted at the non-jazz listener. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [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". A wing-shaped collar with a triangular notch in it, with the lapels (when on blazers and jackets) of a garment at the seam where collar and lapels. So called because of its association with, A small standing collar, meeting at the front, based on traditional. William Clarence Eckstein (Billy Eckstine), singer and bandleader, born Pittsburgh 8 July 1914, married twice (five sons, two daughters), died Pittsburgh 8 March 1993. _______________________________________________________. The two of them, taken by the new music, persuaded Hines to take on Charlie Parker and Sarah Vaughan (whom Eckstine and Johnson could claim to have discovered). [14] 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". Eckstine's popularity grew not only on U.S. pop charts, but also in Britain, hitting the Top Ten twice. 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 Down Beat polls in the Top Male Vocalist category: He won Esquire magazines New Star Award in 1946; the Down Beat magazine Readers Polls from 1948 to 1952; and the Metronome magazine award as Top Male Vocalist from 1949 to 1954. Chosen as vocalist of the year, he recorded 'St Louis Blues' with the Metronome All Stars of 1953, and also worked with Maynard Ferguson's Orchestra for a time. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. WebAn important bebop vocalist and band leader, Billy Eckstine got his start in Pittsburgh. 
The singer and bandleader achieved great personal success, but also fostered the careers of a number of younger jazz musicians. There was only one door out of the hall and the audience, thinking that bombs were exploding, panicked and it was amazing that there were no serious injuries. Once, when Eckstine came across a disheveled 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 fathers farm in the winter of 1953 and finally kicked the habit. 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." Ginell observes that he was "popular music's first romantic African American icon," his legacy was obscured because while he had many hits, he lacked an iconic recording like Sinatra's My Way or Bing Crosby's White Christmas. He was the subject of a three-page profile in the 25 April 1950 issue of LIFE magazine. He changed the spelling to Eckstine after a club owner said the original spelling was "too Jewish". This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Billy-Eckstine, All About Jazz - Biography of Billy Eckstine, Billy Eckstine - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). A one-piece collar that lies flat, part of the shirt also lies flat to create a notch. After their divorce in 1952, he married actress and model Carolle Drake in 1953, and they remained married until his death. From 1947 on, Eckstine was a successful popular singer; among his recordings were Caravan, Prisoner of Love, You Go to My Head, and That Old Black Magic. Eckstine posthumously received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 2019. William P. Gottlieb/Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Fund Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress. 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