Eckstine was an American jazz singer and bandleader who also played trumpet, valve trombone, and guitar. He also performed briefly as Billy X. Stine. His nickname was Mr. B. Although best known as a singer, his openness to new music made him a strong influence on modern jazz, particularly bebop, as he gave employment to many of the musicians who founded the style.
After singing with the Earl Hines band from 1939 to 1943 he led his own band from 1944 to 1947. The band featured at various times a large number of rising jazz stars, including:
Saxophones: Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Lucky Thompson, Charlie Parker, Wardell Gray, Budd Johnson, Leo Parker
Trumpets: Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Fats Navarro
Drums: Art Blakey
Singers: Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan
Eckstine later formed an octet, then went solo, becoming a popular ballad singer while remaining an important figure in jazz. His huge, distinctive baritone made him one of the first African American singers to have mainstream success. 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)"). Most of his success as a singer came with ballads, including "Everything I have is Yours", "Blue Moon", "Caravan," "Prisoner of Love," "You Go to My Head," and "That Old Black Magic". His last hit was "Passing Strangers", a duet with Sarah Vaughan released in 1957.
Eckstine was a style leader and noted sharp dresser. 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. In addition to looking cool, the collar expanded and contracted without popping open, which allowed his neck to swell while playing his horns. The collars were worn by many a hipster in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
In 1984, Eckstine recorded his final album, I Am A Singer, featuring beautiful ballads arranged and conducted by Angelo DiPippo.
Don't Leave Me
Billy Eckstine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And having wept
Can weep no more
But still it cries for me
It cries in sympathy
It knows that you are gone
Don't leave me baby!
When you were mine
An' not so long ago
I used to say
You'd never go away
You'd never leave me lonely
Don't leave me baby!
Think about the happy times
The groovy times
Don't tell me they are gone
I just can't carry on an'
And know that you're not here
You're not near
Anymore
Don't leave me baby
Things are gonna work out fine
Don't leave me baby
Think I'm goin' outta my mind
Don't leave me baby
Don't leave me behind!
(Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!
Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!)
(Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!
Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!)
The willow weeps
And having wept
Can weep no more
But still it cries for me
It cries in sympathy
It knows that you are gone
It cries for me
(Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!
Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!)
The willow weeps!
The lyrics to Billy Eckstine's song Don't Leave Me convey the pain and heartache of a lost love. The repetition of the phrase "Don't leave me baby!" throughout the song highlights the singer's desperation to not be left alone. The first verse describes the willow tree weeping and crying in sympathy with the singer, as it too misses the person who has left. The second verse reminisces about the happy times the singer and the person shared together in the past, with the singer pleading for them to not be gone. The song ends with a repetition of the first verse, with the singer still longing for the lost love.
Overall, the lyrics of the song are a poignant expression of the intense emotions that come with feeling abandoned by someone you love. The willow tree serves as a powerful metaphor for the sadness and pain that the singer is experiencing.
Line by Line Meaning
The willow weeps
The droopy and sad willow tree sheds tears which symbolize the longing and sorrow of the singer
And having wept
After having shed tears before, the willow can no longer cry any more tears
Can weep no more
The willow is now unable to express any more tears over what it has lost
But still it cries for me
Even though the willow cannot cry any more, it continues to symbolize the singer's sadness over the loss of his significant other
It cries in sympathy
The willow takes on the singer's emotions and mourns the same way he mourns
It knows that you are gone
The willow understands that the person the singer is longing for is no longer around
Don't leave me baby!
The singer pleads for the one he yearns for to stay with him and not abandon him
There was a time
In the past, the singer and his love were together
When you were mine
At one point, the person the singer yearns for was his to keep
An' not so long ago
It hasn't been too long since they were together
I used to say
In the good times, the singer would always claim something to give him hope
You'd never go away
He believed that the person he loves would never leave him
You'd never leave me lonely
He assumed his lover would never make him feel neglected
Think about the happy times
The singer wants himself and his lover to reminisce about times they used to be happy together
The groovy times
He particularly emphasizes that his lover should reflect on their old, happy times because they were 'groovy' and special
Don't tell me they are gone
The singer urges his lover not to make him feel hopeless by saying that the great times are over
I just can't carry on an'
The singer is experiencing too much pain that he cannot handle in his emotional state
And know that you're not here
He can no longer bear the fact that his lover is not by his side
You're not near
His lover's absence is felt by the singer who is deeply affected by it
Anymore
He has now realized the permanence of his lover's absence
Things are gonna work out fine
The singer is optimistic that everything will eventually fall into place for him and his lover
Think I'm goin' outta my mind
The singer feels like he's losing his grip on reality because of his emotions and suffers in their absence
Don't leave me baby
The singer's insistence for his lover to stick around because he is in immense suffering without them
Don't leave me behind!
He fears he will be left alone and forgotten if his lover is not by his side
(Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!
Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!)
These mysterious sounds provide no lyrical meaning in the song and are likely used to add additional flair to the musical experience
The willow weeps!
The song ends on a note that emphasizes the singer's immense pain and sorrow, analogous to the weeping willow
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY NILSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nick Zoohowza
on Jelly, Jelly
The “meaning” of Jelly Jelly seems to have been written by ChatGPT. Surely “jelly”, like “jelly roll” was intended in this song to refer to sex/genitalia, and not something to spread on toast.
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on Kiss Of Fire
Absolutely Absolutely Absolutely Amazing Grace his voice was"GOD"gift to us class jazz lovers listeners u'dig now can you dig dat baby,baby from da'conductor nelfoster from chocolate cle city ohio chocolate rocks...