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.
Fool
Billy Eckstine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't hold the teardrops from my eyes
For at sundown I will lay a-dyin'
At the door of the Fool's Paradise
Rode into this cattle town this morning
Left my bearer to check the market price
And I walked into the nearest bar room
There the crowd was gay and girls were dancing
And the men were playing cards and dice
So I stepped up to the bar to join them
What a grand place, this Fool's Paradise
It was then I showed to them your picture
I passed it around once or twice
Then a man insulted your sweet honour
At the bar of the Fool's Paradise
So I slapped his face and I told him,I said,
"You eat them words, Mister, or draw, that's my advice"
And he said, "Well somebody might get hurt inside,
But I'll be glad to meet you in the street at sundown,
At sundown in front of the Fool's Paradise"
So goodbye my darlin', may God bless you
I go to make this sacrifice
And if ever you visit old Dodge City
Remember the Fool's Paradise
The song "Fools Paradise" by Billy Eckstine is a heart-wrenching ballad about a man penning a letter to his lover, as he faces his imminent death. The opening lines of the song reveal the emotional turmoil that the singer is going through as the tears flow down his cheeks, and he struggles to come to terms with the fact that he will soon be laying dying outside the doors of the Fool's Paradise. The scene is set in a cattle town, where the man has gone to check the market price, and he stumbles into a nearby bar, which turns out to be the Fool's Paradise. There, he finds himself surrounded by lively people who are playing cards, dancing, and drinking. He joins in, and everything seems perfect until he shows the other men in the bar a picture of his lover.
Suddenly, one of the men insults her honor, and the singer fiercely defends her by slapping the man's face. The man challenges him to a duel at sundown, revealing that he will be waiting for him outside the doors of the Fool's Paradise, where the singer will later be found laying dying. The singer signs off his letter with a heartbreaking goodbye, begging his lover to remember the Fool's Paradise if she ever visits that town.
The lyrics from "Fool's Paradise" are a testament to the darker side of gambling, where the participants tend to push their luck too far and often end up with their lives in ruins. It is easy to get lost in such a world of illusions and forget one's responsibilities, as the singer does in this song, leading to tragic consequences. Ultimately, the song is a poignant reminder that, for some people, a moment of foolishness can lead to a lifelong regret.
Line by Line Meaning
As I write this letter to you, Darlin', I can't hold the teardrops from my eyes
The author is writing a letter to their darling, and is on the verge of crying.
For at sundown I will lay a-dyin', At the door of the Fool's Paradise
The author knows they will die at the Fool's Paradise at sundown.
Rode into this cattle town this morning, Left my bearer to check the market price, And I walked into the nearest bar room, They call it the Fool's Paradise
The author arrived in a cattle town this morning, left someone to check prices, and went to the Fool's Paradise bar.
There the crowd was gay and girls were dancing, And the men were playing cards and dice, So I stepped up to the bar to join them, What a grand place, this Fool's Paradise
The bar was lively with dancing girls and gambling men, the author joined in and enjoyed the atmosphere.
It was then I showed to them your picture, I passed it around once or twice, Then a man insulted your sweet honour, At the bar of the Fool's Paradise
The author showed the people at the bar a picture of their love interest, but one man insulted their honor.
So I slapped his face and I told him, I said, "You eat them words, Mister, or draw, that's my advice", And he said, "Well somebody might get hurt inside, But I'll be glad to meet you in the street at sundown, At sundown in front of the Fool's Paradise"
The author slapped the man who insulted their love interest, and warned him to take back his words or face a duel at sundown.
So goodbye my darlin', may God bless you, I go to make this sacrifice, And if ever you visit old Dodge City, Remember the Fool's Paradise
The author says goodbye to their love interest and hopes they are blessed, as they are about to sacrifice their life at the Fool's Paradise. They also ask that the love interest remember the place if they ever visit Dodge City.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DANNY ELFMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@scottmiller6495
Fantastic Performance, i hate when they cut off the audiences, s reaction, he probably got a roaring ovation !!!!!
@michaelkerridge604
What a voice the one and only Billy Eckstine.
@LovelyCoastline-ir8ec
Tears fall freely when I hear that voice, music is so much greater than religion. (Music is where God hangs his hat when he watches “christians” politicize Him!)
@robratchford2433
What a voice and such exquisite phrasing of song. Their is only one Billy Eckstine!
@bruceheadrick9469
My dad turned me on to him as a youth. As a result the music of Billy Eckstine has escorted me through this life.
@Alanoffer
I’ve heard billy ekstines voice my entire life on the radio and this is the first time I’ve ever seen him
@tonydialsr7190
It is so heart breaking we do not have these types of performers today. Mr. B a real singer and gentleman. I have talked with a number of performers who knew this man. My main man Charlie Sifford a Black Golfer who knew this man and he always spoke very highly of Mr. Eckstine. Oh Mr. Charlie Sifford was the first Black American to win the Senior PGA. Rest in Peace to the best this nation had to offer to the world.
@lynereid385
Check out Gregory Porter. He has a fabulous voice.
@jonathanpearl5379
Charlie Sifford was Billy Eckstine's golf teaching pro as you know. Joe Louis had a black golf teaching pro named Teddy Rhodes who used win so much money hustling Louis on the golf course that he didn't fight to desegregate the PGA Tour the way that Sifford did
@tonydialsr7190
Thank you so much. I will never ever forget these stellar gentlemen. @@jonathanpearl5379