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37-556: Eckstine is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Billy Eckstine (1914–1993), ballad singer and bandleader during the Swing era Guy Eckstine (born 1956), American music industry executive Ronnie Eckstine (born 1946), American actor and music manager, stepson of Billy See also [ edit ] Eckstein Eksteen [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with

74-512: A label for ex-Motown artists founded by Ian Levine . 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. Eckstine suffered

111-475: 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. 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

148-475: A nursery rhyme with interpolated scatting. Heading to Chicago , Illinois , Eckstine joined Earl Hines ' Grand Terrace Orchestra in 1939, staying with the band as vocalist and trumpeter until 1943. 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". In 1944, Eckstine formed his own big band, and it became

185-510: 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. 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). Eckstine had further success in 1950 with Victor Young 's theme song to " My Foolish Heart ", and

222-613: 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. His final word was "Basie". A State Historical Marker was placed at 5913 Bryant Street in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood to mark

259-440: A tie at all). The collars were worn by many a hipster in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1984, Eckstine recorded his penultimate album, I Am a Singer , arranged and conducted by Angelo DiPippo and featuring Toots Thielemans on harmonica. In November 1986, Eckstine recorded with saxophonist Benny Carter for his 1987 album Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter . Eckstine made his final recordings for Motorcity Records ,

296-579: 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". In 1951, Eckstine performed at the seventh Cavalcade of Jazz concert held on July 8 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. Also featured were Lionel Hampton and his Revue, Percy Mayfield , Jimmy Witherspoon , Joe Liggins and The Honeydrippers and Roy Brown . Among Eckstine's recordings of

333-458: Is considered to be the first bebop big-band, and had Top Ten chart entries that included " A Cottage for Sale " and " Prisoner of Love ". Both were awarded a gold disc by the RIAA . 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 ,

370-572: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) 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. 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

407-413: The surname Eckstine . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eckstine&oldid=1182055317 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description

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444-457: The 1950s was a 1957 duet with Sarah Vaughan, " Passing Strangers ", a minor hit for them in 1957, but an initial No. 22 success in the UK Singles Chart . 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

481-508: 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. 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

518-732: The DC Preservation League listed the Howard Theatre as one of its Most Endangered Places in the District. In 2006, the Howard Theatre was returned to private ownership when Ellis Development was selected to renovate and restore the theatre. The District set aside $ 20 million in public funding for the renovation. Ellis Development, led by Chip Ellis and his son, Malik Ellis, formed Howard Theatre Development Group LLC. Through Howard Theatre Development Group, Ellis Development received nearly $ 12 million in District funds to redevelop and reopen

555-483: The acts featured at the theater's reopening. Later in the decade, go-go bands played the venue, and Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers also performed at the Howard Theatre in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980, the theater closed again. At the time it was the oldest venue in the country that featured Black artists. Under Mayor Marion Barry the theatre was purchased by the District government for $ 100,000. In 2002,

592-516: The artist Romare Bearden , Gene Kelly , pianist Dodo Marmarosa and Lorin Maazel . During this time, Eckstine moved to Washington, D.C., attending Armstrong High School (where his sister taught), St. Paul Normal and Industrial School , and Howard University . In 1933, aged 19, he left Howard to start a music career, after winning first place and $ 10 in an amateur talent contest at Washington's Howard Theatre , where he imitated Cab Calloway singing

629-557: 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 ." Eckstine was born in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , United States,

666-424: The finishing school for adventurous young musicians who would shape the future of jazz including Charlie Parker , Dizzy Gillespie , Dexter Gordon , Gene Ammons , Miles Davis , Art Blakey , Cecil Payne , Fats Navarro , Lucky Thompson , John Malachi , Sarah Vaughan , Pearl Bailey , and Lena Horne . Tadd Dameron , Gil Fuller and Jerry Valentine were among the band's arrangers. The Billy Eckstine Orchestra

703-403: The house where Eckstine grew up. 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

740-416: 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". 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

777-472: The image that Holmes "...captured a moment of shared exuberance, joy, and affection, unblemished by racial tension". 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". 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. The publication of

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814-753: 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. Eckstine made numerous appearances on television variety shows, including on 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

851-445: 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 . Eckstine became a solo performer in 1947, with records featuring lush, sophisticated orchestrations. Even before folding his band, Eckstine had recorded solo to support it, scoring two million-sellers in 1945 with " Cottage for Sale " and

888-467: The next year with a revival of the 1931 Bing Crosby hit, " I Apologize ". 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. He was even called "the sepia Sinatra" for his rivalry of the country's most popular vocalist. Eckstine was the subject of a three-page profile in

925-624: 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 . Billy's sister, Maxine, was a high school teacher. Eckstine attended Peabody High School in Pittsburgh. Other notables who were educated there include

962-525: The stage were Sarah Vaughan , Dinah Washington , Sammy Davis Jr. , James Brown , Lena Horne , Lionel Hampton , The Supremes , Stevie Wonder , and Dionne Warwick , Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells The 1968 riots , which followed the April 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. , caused the venue a great deal of harm. The riots, coupled with desegregation , contributed to

999-648: 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. And, in Billboard magazine, Quincy Jones stated: I looked up to Mr. B as an idol. I wanted to dress like him, talk like him, pattern my whole life as

1036-428: The system, so things never quite fell into place." Lionel Hampton said: 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." Howard Theatre In its heyday,

1073-413: The television sitcom Sanford and Son , and in such films as Skirts Ahoy , Let's Do It Again , and Jo Jo Dancer . He performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to Game 4 of the 1979 World Series at Three Rivers Stadium in his native Pittsburgh. 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

1110-409: The theater during World War II . These balls featured performers like Danny Kaye , Abbott and Costello and Cesar Romero , among others. Also in the 1940s, Pearl Bailey made her debut at the Howard Theatre. The Howard Theatre turned into a house for rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues during the 1950s and 1960s, when many important acts from both genres played there. Among the acts to grace

1147-484: The theater featured orchestra and balcony seats and eight proscenium boxes, with a lavishly decorated interior. No less extravagant was the exterior, which combined elements of the Beaux-Arts , Italian Renaissance , and neoclassical styles. The whole was surmounted by a larger than life statue of Apollo playing his lyre . Andrew Thomas served as the theater's manager during its early years. Beginning in 1922 it

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1184-479: The theater to its former glory. The theater reopened on April 9, 2012 to headline acts including Wanda Sykes , Blue Öyster Cult , and Chaka Khan , all of whom appeared in the first month after its reopening. Constructed in 1910, the theater was founded and owned by the National Amusement Company, a white-owned group. When built, it had a capacity of more than 1,200. Designed by J. Edward Storck,

1221-580: The theater was known for catering to an African-American clientele, and had played host to many of the great Black musical artists of the early and mid-twentieth century. The Howard Theatre was billed as the "Theater of the People", and supported two theatrical organizations, the Lafayette Players and the Howard University Players. In September 2010 extensive renovations were started to restore

1258-590: The theater's difficulty in attracting patrons, and the theater closed in 1970. Three years later, in 1973, the Howard Theatre Foundation was organized to reopen the venue. It was this organization which succeeded, in 1974, in gaining the building historic landmark status. In April 1975, the New Howard Theatre Corporation presented an evening of entertainment to salute the reopening of the theater. Redd Foxx and Melba Moore were among

1295-522: The theater's reputation as an entertainment hotspot. This rebirth was helped along by Shep Allen, the building's new manager. In the 1930s Allen introduced an amateur contest that was used as a springboard to stardom by Billy Eckstine and Ella Fitzgerald . The Howard Theatre lost its original ornate facade in 1941 when it was redone in the then-fashionable Streamline style. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor would attend balls at

1332-424: The theatre. To oversee management of the facility, Ellis Development created the nonprofit Howard Theatre Restoration Inc. In September 2010, groundbreaking for extensive renovations of the theater was held. The project's goals were to restore the Howard Theatre to 600 seats, complementing developments at the adjacent Progression Place. Martinez + Johnson Architecture and Marshall Moya Design were responsible for

1369-573: Was leased and run by actor, producer, and entrepreneur Sherman Dudley . It was taken over in 1926 by Abe Lichtman, the white owner of a chain of movie theaters that were frequented by Blacks. With the onset of the Great Depression , the building became a church for a time under the direction of Elder Michaux. In 1931, as part of the venue's return to its original purpose, Duke Ellington appeared with his band at "the Howard", helping also to cement

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