He was the composer of the blues classic "Jelly, Jelly" and also recorded the R&B top hit "Stormy Monday Blues" in 1942 (not to be confused with T-Bone Walker's 1947 "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad)"). Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, Dick Haymes, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat 'King' Cole and Kay Starr have all been able to please audiences in both camps, but none except Eckstine's long-time partner Sarah Vaughan and Nat Cole (one of the best jazz pianists) were able to make the transition as well as Eckstine.
In addition to looking cool, the collar expanded and contracted without popping open, which allowed his neck to swell while playing his horns.
'In those days they had segregated trains, and the black car was always right behind the coal car, so that all the dirt and dust would fly in on us. It included in its ranks Gillespie, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, Budd Johnson, Gene Ammons, Kenny Dorham, Fats Navarro, Lena Horne, Dexter Gordon, Lucky Thompson and Sarah Vaughan.
He was completely at home in both idioms.After working as a night-club singer Eckstine became the vocalist in the big band led by the pianist Earl Hines in 1939. He changed the spelling to Eckstine after a club owner said the original spelling was "too Jewish".Eckstine was a style leader and noted sharp dresser. I jumped off the train and waited for this cracker.
'When he was forced to break up the band Eckstine returned to his career as a solo singer and by the end of the Forties had become the most popular vocalist in the United States. The band was an artistic triumph and a commercial failure. Signing with MGM, he rose to superstar status, sold millions of records, marketed his own line of "Mr. B." 213. On one occasion in his solo career, he was in competition with another male fashion plate, Duke Ellington. I grabbed him and hit him again, and he started crawling under the train. Always stylishly dressed, he wore narrow ties, loose-fitting suits and a signature curved shirt collar favored by hipsters and gangsters. Quote Reply. Signing with MGM, he rose to superstar status, sold millions of records, marketed his own line of "Mr. 'Although he was much liked by other musicians, he did have a tough side to him. 'He worked with us at the New York Paramount once, and it was a ball hearing him five shows a day.
He made a close friend in Budd Johnson who played tenor sax and composed for the band. In his early days he used his vocal success to subsidise his big band and it was always a pleasure to see one of his records in the Top Ten, even when the songs were, to the jazz listener, turkeys like 'I Apologise' and 'I Wanna Be Loved'. Eckstine was also a fashion trend-setter, as his rolled-collar dress shirts became popular as "Mr. B" style shirts among hip dressers in the late 40's. I hit him and he slid backwards. He designed and patented a high roll collar that formed a B over a Windsor-knotted tie, which became known as a Mr. B. Collar. The wide shirt collars which he insisted on became a national fashion and were known as 'Mr B Collars'. 'When you got to Washington you'd left the South and were all right. Also, a variant of that collar was the "Mr B" collar popularized by the famous singer and musician Billy Eckstine . Are you sure you want to delete this comment?Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium.