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.
My Cherrie Amour
Billy Eckstine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My cherie amour, lovely as a summer day
My cherie amour, distant as the milky way
My cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore
You're the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine
In a cafe or sometimes on a crowded street
I've been near you, but you never noticed me
That behind that little smile I wore
How I wish that you were mine
La la la la la la, la la la la la la
La la la la la la, la la la la la la
Maybe someday, you'll see my face amoung the crowd
Maybe someday, I'll share your little distant cloud
Oh, cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore
You're the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine
La la la la la la, la la la la la la
La la la la la la, la la la la la la
Billy Eckstine's song "My Cherie Amour" is about unrequited love. In the first verse, the lyrics describe the object of the singer's affection as "lovely as a summer day" and "distant as the milky way." This suggests that the singer is deeply enamored with this person but feels helpless to connect with them in a meaningful way. The chorus further emphasizes the singer's longing for this person, describing them as a "pretty little one" that they adore. The singer wishes that they could be with this person and wonders why they don't notice them.
The second verse of the song reveals that the singer has been in close proximity to the person they love, but they have never been noticed. The lyrics suggest that the singer has tried to catch the attention of their beloved, perhaps by visiting cafes or wandering through crowded streets, but to no avail. The chorus is repeated again, expressing the singer's wish that they could be with the person they love.
The closing lines of the song suggest that there is still hope for the singer's love to be reciprocated. The lyrics suggest that maybe someday they will be noticed by the person they adore and that they could even share a "distant cloud" with them. The song ends on a hopeful note, with the singer still wishing for the love that they desire.
Line by Line Meaning
La la la la la la, la la la la la la
The singer is humming a tune to set the mood for his love song
My cherie amour, lovely as a summer day
The singer is expressing how beautiful and lovely his love interest is who is just like a summer day
My cherie amour, distant as the milky way
The singer is conveying how far away and unattainable his love interest seems to him just like the distant, unreachable milky way
My cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore
The singer is emphasizing how much he adores his love interest who is charming and lovely
You're the only girl my heart beats for
The singer is confessing that he has absolutely fallen in love with his love interest and no one else holds his heart the same way
How I wish that you were mine
The singer is expressing his yearning and desire for his love interest to belong to him
In a cafe or sometimes on a crowded street
The singer is reminiscing of the times he has been in the same space as his love interest either in a cafe or on a crowded street
I've been near you, but you never noticed me
The singer is acknowledging that he was close to his love interest in these past experiences, but she never even noticed him
My cherie amour, won't you tell me how could you ignore
The singer is pleading for his love interest to notice him and begging her to acknowledge him, emphasizing her past disregard
That behind that little smile I wore
The singer is emphasizing the little cues he has been giving her that show his interest, like the smile he wears
Maybe someday, you'll see my face amoung the crowd
The singer is expressing hope in the possibility of his love interest finally recognizing him in a crowd of people
Maybe someday, I'll share your little distant cloud
The singer is expressing hope in the possibility of being able to share a distant yet beautiful place with his love interest, as if they were in the same cloud
Oh, cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore
The singer is once again expressing his adoration of his love interest, the one who occupies his mind and heart
You're the only girl my heart beats for
The singer is repeating his declaration of love and confirming that his love interest is always on his mind
How I wish that you were mine
The singer repeats his plea and desire for his love interest to belong to him
La la la la la la, la la la la la la
The singer repeats his tune to end the song
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: HENRY COSBY, STEVIE WONDER, SYLVIA MOY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Andrew Kieswetter
I love this version as much as Stevie Wonder's original.
salzburg9
I can't stop listening to this wonderful sound, thanks for posting !
David Diaz
Brilliant Mr. B, from the Motown years...this man could sing anything......
voicegirl555
Only Stevie Wonder can sing this song! Well that is what I thought until I heard you Mr. B! I like your take on it! Gone 28 years but still one of the greatest singers who ever lived!
Michael Watkins
Yes another Mr. B masterpiece. He's incomparable.
stixkubwa
Billy Eckstine. Long before Motown was ever dreamt of. Originally a big band leader, then on to become front line singer with that beautiful dark voice. "Passing Strangers" duet with Sarah Vaughan, so famous.
Sandro Damiani
Monster!!!!!!!
cputb1
Hahaha, I like it. Kinda' cheesy, but still, in a sincere way. What's the fade out to the background singers on the la la la's all about? Take after take, he just couldn't remember the words, hahaha. Nice post millsbrothers.
jazmaan
@bustup99 More commonly he was known as "Mr. B" or "Mr. BE" !
Ujima Jame
Strange he would record this on Stax after recording three albums on Motown. Though he does a good job, the girls in the background at the end sound insipid and as out of place as the White girls behind Shirley Alston Reeves on The Shirelles' "Baby It's You" (though they made it work!) Someone should remix this without them. Better than this is his covers of The Four Tops' "Ask The Lonely", Brenda Holloway's "Together 'Til The End of Time", Stevie Wonder's "Thank You Love" and "Down To Earth", Eddie Kendricks' "I Did It All For You" and Edwin Starr (who led The Holidays on) "Oh How Happy."