Research Catalog

Mr. B. : the life and music of Billy Eckstine

Title: Mr. B. : the life and music of Billy Eckstine / Cary Ginell ; with a foreword by Ed Eckstein.
Author: Ginell, Cary
Publication: Milwaukee, WI : Hal Leonard Books, [2013]

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	Sc E 15-852	Schomburg Center - Research & Reference
Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Performing Arts Research Collections to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	JNE 14-19	Performing Arts Research Collections - Music
Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Performing Arts Research Collections to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	JNE 14-10	Performing Arts Research Collections - Music

Details

Description

xix, 228 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 23 cm.

Summary

"In 1950, Billy Eckstine was the most popular singer in America. Movie-star handsome with an elegant pencil-thin mustache and a wide vibrato, Eckstine possessed one of the most magnificent voices in popular music history. Born in Pittsburgh, Eckstine won a talent contest by imitating Cab Calloway and started leading jazz orchestras under the name Baron Billy. In 1939, he joined Earl Hines' orchestra, composing and performing the hits "Jelly, Jelly" and "Stormy Monday Blues." In 1944, he formed what is now considered the first bebop orchestra that included, during its brief three-year run, legendary figures such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Sarah Vaughan. Signing with MGM, he rose to superstar status, sold millions of records, marketed his own line of "Mr. B." shirt collars, and inspired an army of female admirers, known as "Billy-soxers." Eckstine fought all his life for recognition and respect in his quest to become America's first black romantic singing idol, but he faced hardships in the segregated music world of the '40s and '50s. Despite this, he went on to influence many singers who followed, including Arthur Prysock, Johnny Hartman, Johnny Mathis, Kevin Mahogany, Barry White, and even Elvis Presley. In this book, Cary Ginell traces, for the first time, the life of one of the twentieth century's most amazing success stories, the man known simply as "Mr. B."

Series Statement

The Hal Leonard jazz biography series

Subjects

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-202) and index.

Call Number

JNE 14-19

ISBN

9781458419804 (pbk.)
1458419800 (pbk.)

LCCN

2013025628

OCLC

827257129

Author

Ginell, Cary, author.

Title

Mr. B. : the life and music of Billy Eckstine / Cary Ginell ; with a foreword by Ed Eckstein.

Publisher

Milwaukee, WI : Hal Leonard Books, [2013]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

The Hal Leonard jazz biography series

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-202) and index.

Research Call Number

JNE 14-19

JNE 14-10

Sc E 15-852

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