musical excerpt, fyi. randye
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Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 16:39:40 -0400
From: Munirah Chronicle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Subject: 0708 - Today in Black History - July 08
1914 - William Clarence ("Billy") Eckstine is born in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. He will become famous in the 1950s as the smooth-
voiced baritone singer of such hits as "Fools Rush In" and
"Skylark," but music critics and serious jazz fans know him as the
man whose big-band launched such renowned performers as Dizzy
Gillespie, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, and Sarah
Vaughan. He will begin his musical career on a piano his father
had bought for his two sisters. After attending Howard University,
he will begin singing with various groups, touring in the Midwest
before settling in Chicago in 1939, where he will join the band led
by Earl "Fatha" Hines. It was with Hines that he will have his first
hit, the blues song "Jelly Jelly," which he will write and sing. In
1944 he will form his own big-band. The band, always a favorite with
other musicians, will help to pioneer the then-new bebop sound.
Its avant-garde musicianship often overshadowed his more traditional
vocals, and the band suffered from being badly recorded. His solo
career will take off after the band dissolves in 1947. With his deep,
romantic voice, elegant presence, and matinee-idol good looks, he
become a popular performer. Often referred to as "Mr. B," he will
also garner several film roles in the following decades, and many
will refer to him as the first black sex symbol. He will join the
ancestors on March 8, 1993.
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Munirah Chronicle is edited by Brother Mosi Hoj
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. | * Randye Jones |
. |) . aka the singin' one | Hate
. /| . [EMAIL PROTECTED] | IS NOT
. ( | ) . Listowner, [EMAIL PROTECTED] | a family value
. . | . http://www.afrovoice.com |
