Billy Eckstine - Prisoner of Love

[sierria64]

oh dam... this is where james brown got that song from.. eckstien was fine

[EMCEMITCH]

true is true===if he was caucasian, he would be bigger than bing crosby and sinatra---just as dorothy dandridge would have been as big as monroe---abby lincoln also

[cdoubleyou89]

one of the best of all time

[warchar65]

anouther good one THE great billy eckstine.

[RTistic]

They should get Terrence Howard to play him in a movie

[bolder2009]

@RTistic Yeah I can see a little resemblance.

[trendy188]

Mr B was a fashion plate as they said in those wonderful days of the 40's and 50's,I remember my pink Mr B shrt with the Mr B collar,I was too cool.Any of you remember the Regal Theater at 47th and south Parkway?All of the great black entertainers of the day performed there.I remember Sammy Davis Jr and the Will Masten trio,Hamp,Lucky Millander, the Count,Peg Leg Bates,Joe Williams was over on the west side at the Stairway to the stars,those were the days in Chicago,gone but not forgotten.

[elisa412]

Mr. B is in a class of his own..his voice is something I never get tired of listening to ..

Thanks for sharing a fantastic video...one of the best of You Tube *smiles*

[gotmilk7926]

Eckstine was a little ahead of his time - I'm sure the dude turned chicks on, and color didn't matter when it came to that. But back then we couldn't deal with a black guy making it with a white woman. (Check out the approving "colored" couple in the audience as Billy sings; heaven help us should they be white.) Eckstine was terrific: golden, rich voice, always on key and great delivery. I wish he had come along decades later - but by then music would have turned to the mud it is today.

[albyroblejo]

pretty much as smooth as it gets..

[jh8856]

Great vocalist - should have done even better than he did.

[zzzclaudiozzz]

the best singer

[MARILLIONROCKER45]

Mr. B was our singing idol in the late 40's and early fifties. My brothers wanted to dress like him (he made the Mr. B. collar famous) "I Apologize' is his best work and one of my top 10 songs of all-time. I am 65 now but those days in Milwaukee hearing this incredible man sing are memories I will never forget.

[djbjam]

i think i watch this clip every day lol

[diggsduke]

@djbjam me too!

[miaof09]

i wish i lived in that time era...i really do, i just wanna go back in time and see him perform

[mrstep2me]

One of Pittsburgh's greatest!

[CaptRhett1]

The Great Mr. B.... May his memory and his music live forever !!!

[vivaelvira1]

colora40  So many love moovies has Billys music. He has amaising voice

[havbrush]

It looks like he had to borrow that suit, must have been a lost luggage incident. But that still doesn't take away from Mr. B's greatness.

[djbjam]

@havbrush that was the reminiscence of the zoot suits

[BroughamConspiracy]

There has got to be a story behind that jacket. The guy was too classy to let that happen unless it was an emergency.

[jorgee57]

@BroughamConspiracy that was the style in the 40s oversize suits

[jorgee57]

@BroughamConspiracy  that was the style in the 40s oversize suits

[Alessiasmom]

Did Etta James re-do this?

[greengringo2003]

@Alessiasmom She sure did.  A great rendition, too.

[vaginolistic]

"What are you guys talking about that was the style back then"? , Im translating for my dad he says..Mr.B set trends he was never in anything terrible..zoot suits and etc. Mr.B was a class act performer and stylist

[uncaringbear]

Don't need no Autotune to sound awesome.

[afb37206]

That was NOT Al Capone at the table; this man had a voice to die for.

[nellie2581]

Great song

[vaginolistic]

Is that Al Capone, watching the performance, slight resemblance...excuse me if I'm wrong

[JPfromFlint]

@vaginolistic No that's not Al Capone. Last time I checked Al was Italian and not black

[cavaleer]

@JPfromFlint The guys he's talking about did resemble Capone at a glance but he's probably American, not foreign.

[cavaleer]

@vaginolistic I doubt it. But that guy did look like Capone. lol This was a movie set or some sort so I don't think they'd have the gangster in the audience.

[scottduncan44]

Fools this was the style in that era. Mr.B never appearred in anything less than the best of clothes. He may be underated today but in his time all the greatest jazz musican's knew he was the Man.Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, and Fats Navarro were in his Band the first be bop jazz band.He had great commercial success despite the blatent racism of his time.He was a hero and role model for a generation of black artist.

[jazztweety]

Thank you JohnnyVangelis for posting this great video!!!

[MatuArt]

Icon of love........... wow getum babe, R I P

[OlfArts]

Wardrobe person should've got his butt kicked for letting one of the greatest singers to front the cameras like that perhaps they never had such things then.

[jtcbrt]

@OlfArts It looks like he borrowed Big Joe Turner's suit jacket

[consrivera001]

True TALENT ! No chorus, doble voice, reverb, special effect, just true rich voice. A most have in your jazz collection

[consrivera001]

True TALENT! What an incredible voice. No chorus, no doble voice, no reverb, no special sound effects, just true rich voice

[BuyBenco]

I thought Bill was an impeccable dresser - he invented his own "windsor" spread collar that would expand and not pop while singing or on trumpet - but the suit is too big heere!

[Xilluci]

Wow! This is wonderful!!!!! I really love his voice!

[Mikejizzle510]

This guy was supposedly a bad ass motherfucker street wise. Kickin in doors and slappin ho's type of shit.. ain that something see: . (Miles Davis autobiography)

[genecosta2]

A remarkable resemblance to Clark Gabel in this video. Billy was the greatest. I also grew up with his music.

[africanzionflo]

@haliwellhobbs Now thats so funny!

[ValOddling]

Amazing, where do you find this stuff? Thanks for preserving this great performance.

[biggaB]

this song is killing me over and over again right now.  fucking prisoner.

[mohinderbauer]

If it weren't for Fred Sanford, I would never have heard of this great singer.

[aaronamccoy]

billy was a bad motherfucker

[bopkick5]

Billy Eckstine iz my favorite singer. an i'm only young too

[aaronamccoy]

@bopkick5 i heard a lot of good things about him by reading miles davis autobiography..miles loved him

[BuyBenco]

@aaronamccoy Yeah he got Miles off heroin but still kept his street cred while staying of drugs but still was tuff

[taylorlautner615]

Im doing a report on this guy, im glad i chose him cuz he seems pretty cool ;D

[trvlr1961]

Comparing Ela Fitzgerald with Billy Holiday or Rosemary Clooney or Dinah Washington..same thing...the list goes on and on.....I have recently learned to love this type of music...blues, jazz, big band, crooners....and I honestly can't compare..nor should anyone without talent....I just enjoy....try to compare mel torme's blue moon with Billy Eckstine...both are equally awesome

[trvlr1961]

Billy Eckstine was Awesome so was Frank...who are we to compare...if you ever listenned to Franks Tommy Dorcey years you may see how awesome he was...If the two were in the same room, I am sure they would both say the other was a better singer...but two different styles..

[braunshugar1]

Finally a voice of reason. SugarHill you reflect and channel what I have been saying for years. In the school of smooth and style Frank is a but a freshman in the Eckstine school. :)

[TheViewFromSugarHill]

Whoever said Billy "rates right up there with Sinatra is a tone deaf fool. By any measure Billy Ekstine was a far superior singer to Sinatra - he had a better voice and greater musicianship. And since he was singing in the Afro-American blues/jazz tradition he had a more intresting style. I find sinatra rather bland compared to Mr. B. Now that's a fact jack!!

Ps: To the dude who cracked on his suit, it is obvious that you are no slave to fashion!

[Maestraux1]

Hey, Wolf....

B has never been eclipsed by anybody!~!!!!!

[ccaammiiittoo1]

Great memories here!

[gmandofgod]

Smooth and awesome performance, but I don't believe that he was ever a prisoner of love... Now when James Brown screams, "Yooooooouuuu made me a przzzznaaaaahhhh!' I believe him, lol.

[airjor1]

He was a great singer!

[oldcountrytunes]

Yes, this is class with a capital C and besides, it is super singing and entertainment. Thanks. *****.

[bopkick5]

yo best singer on da planet. trust mi. . . . wel . . . he aint on de planet no more but he still da top man 4 my money . no dount bout it good people.

[dnliten1]

the prince of his generation. hats off to mr B. read the legendary biographys of all the great of music in this time period and MR B's name comes up all the time. thank you mr b. even on a episode of sanford and son.................do the homework

[WolfflowSyx]

Billy Eckstine was such a great singer with a soothing, mellifluent voice. Too bad he was completely eclipsed by another great singer, Nat King Cole. Granted Cole was a better singer but Eckstine wasn't so far behind.

[airjor1]

I have to give it to Eckstine. He ranks right up there with Frank Sinatra

[Rams4ever]

@WolfflowSyx What is your criteria for determining that Nate Cole was a better singer than Billy Eckstine? Record sales? the tv show? popular opinion? Nate Cole was a great, great musician, no doubt - but when one examines the scale and size of a truly great human voice? Cole is not on Eckstine's planet.

[irishmary24]

very beautiful-- oh, and i love his singing,also!! 5 stars!!!

[TheRenato990]

un des plus grands crooners ! superbe!

[agape4tube]

Oh...My Mom 's generation had some extreme handsome men running around....and with voices like this...WOW!!!!

[guirexyz]

I never knew B.E. was a band leader.  I love his song Temptation but can't find it.

[Corrie121]

Great song , great singer, great post.

Thanks for sharing.

[sessnazx]

Heavenly

Thank You So Much

Mike

[DERedhead65]

what a classy sound... thank you Mike...

~~~~ Becky

[MrCarlball]

mr b the very best

[EdnaCameltoe]

Marla Gibbs of 227 the 80's sitcom sang this song so beautifully in a duet for a wedding scene

I would love to her that again!

[MrCarlball]

mr b.absolutely wonderful you should hear him sing in the movie ships ahoy.briliant.

[imbees2]

You can't beat Billy Eckstine. He was the ultimate singer, bandleader. I grew up with his songs back in the 60's. His songs were some of the songs my husband and I fell in love to. We still listen to him today. We never tire of his music

[bopkick5]

I'm with you. Billy Eckstine is tops of the top

[dal4018]

@imbees2 As stated before Sinatra had nothing on him

[ilikemike97]

In the words of the late great chicago jazz dj, daddy o'daly, "Mister B-Fine Eckstine".

[stellapitbull]

the lou donaldson version is a totally different animal-- has little to do with this classic and superlative vocal performance

[jzzlvrmee]

Now THIS man was a total musician!! Not only a vocalist and bandleader, but pretty good on trumpet and valve trombone.

[allanmatt]

One of the greats. Apparently Duke Ellington once said "no-one sings my songs like B"

[robertclemon]

we are bound by the inevitable........

[asbte]

hey wheres dizzy? lol great song

[Ezperiment]

Damn, that man has an amazing voice. Can't help but smile just listening to him.

[MRDOOWOP1]

To Smooth!!.......The one and only Mr Billy Eckstine!!

[cupidncomici]

Do you mean "too" smooth?

[SwooningCrooner]

here comes the spelling doctor.

[henrik0691]

Wonderful song :) just wondering, do you have My Destiny?

[MsTexas73]

HEY!!! How wonderful to find so many videos of my cousin, Billy Eckstine, in here. I just recently found out through my grandmother* that he was my great-grandmother's cousin.

[leega8010]

Mr B. is one of my favorites. He was suave and exemplified class. We even bought the special MR B special collared rolled shirts in the 50's when they came out.

[loungepianoman]

A true talent in every respect

[dippercat]

If anybody out there can post his rendition of

"Bewildered" I will be eternally grateful.

[pretorious700]

That's some fine stuff there. I can picture this song coming out of a huge floor model radio with young women sitting around listening in ecstasy...those were the days.

[enagyb]

UNDERRATED? HES THE ONE AND ONLY mR. ECKSTINE. JUST FOR CONNOISEURS

[theaikikid]

The geat and underrrated Billy Eckstine. If you look you will also see The Boss Tenor Gene Ammons in the back there.

[vodkaymenta]

the one and only.

[blewis9505]

Mr. Eckstein influenced many I'm certain. One you can look up is the gifted Larry Graham (of Graham Central Station.) Listen to Larry's "Just Be My Lady" and you'll hear exactly what I mean. Enjoy!

[fonkfiend]

Wow...El DeBarge could play him if they ever did a movie about that era.

[agape4tube]

@fonkfiend I agree......

[robertclemon]

Had it all and then some

[LuizEugenio56]

A great voice. He was very successful with both black and white audiences throughout the 1940s.

[TheSanityInspector]

He wanted to prove that a black man could be a straight-up no nonsense crooner. Succeeded splendidly, IMO.

[86pimp3]

Anybody else think Jerry Butler's voice is influenced by Billy Eckstine?

[mickiyelly1960]

billy eckstine was a favorite of my daddy's and i grew to like him through my daddy. nice voice.

[AulicExclusiva]

He is not as well-remembered as he should. He had a terrific voice and WHAT phrasing!

He was also a handsome, dignified presence. An artist. Thank you.

[claptonfan1000000]

This is is great!

On TV they said that no one could say that jessica simpson couldn't sing, but she really can't. I looked it up and then compared it to this. Wow! In these days they could sing, with sound and feeling and grace! And jessica simpson, she's just a feelingless, cold, unexperienced moneymaker. But Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Frank Sinatra they can sing! And they sing better songs too!

Thanks for posting this! It' great!

[checotahkid]

In Dallas I had dish net work, and I had over 150 music channels to choose from, and on Sunday night from 7 p.m.-12 they would play one artist. I remember when they played Billy Eckstein. Serenity, is a feeble attempt to describe the state of euphoric I was in @ that time. What a voice. Smoother than a babies butt.Johnny Vangelis, Thank-you. This is a true Blessing.

[jhughessings]

What a great and original voice.

[sessnazx]

Thank You Billy, You brought back happy memories and a tear to my Eye

Thanks from Mike

[cavaleer]

His voice was astounding. Bravo Billy.

[sjbraitman]

This is an excellent version of this song. Two others that I like were done by Perry Como and Frank Sinatra.

[xyz228]

how about James Brown in 1963?

[paul51]

Talk about a beautiful voice.

[perryjthomas]

this excerpt is from a short film released in

1947 entitled "Rhythm in a Riff". also if you

look closely,you'll see a young Frank Wess,Gene Ammons,& Art Blakey,who were in Mr B's band at the time.

[MadameBeekeeper]

wow, you really know your stuff!

[perryjthomas]

It's nice to know that there are others out in Youtube land who remember and keep the faith going by making the old school greats

available AND alive for new generations!

Happy Holidays To You and keep posting!

[joeygc1972]

One of the great crooners! Smooth, silky, bluesy - fantastic style and presence!

[HoneyHoneyBaby]

Beautiful--great song, gorgeous man...I noticed Ebony Magazine always lists him as a sex symbol & he defintely was that & so much more! What gorgeous green eyes--it's nice to seem the master @ work!!!

~I see the couple, is this from a movie, if so what's the title? ty!

[paulosprengel]

Beautiful !

[battenwood]

The 1943 Eckstine band probably had the best lineup of musicians of any during the big band era. And the two best vocalists---Billy and Sarah Vaughn!

[assunta324]

Great vocalist. Very underated. Was known as Mr B. Too bad some of the greats must wait until death to achieve greatness.

[cavaleer]

Skin color BS...

[johnmanyberries]

assunta324 - I'm glad you like his music, but you should do more homework before making a comment like this. Mr. B was the man who got people like Sarah Vaughn, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Charlie Parker and Herbie Hancock off to good starts in their careers. He was Ike and Tina turner's first real manager as well. He was the first Black performer to walk in the front door of a Vegas club; the first performer to make $5000 a night; he was Frank Sinatra's idol. Enjoy the music...do some research.

[assunta324]

@johnmanyberries I am sure you are correct in all that he did, but I doubt if he received any accolades for all that he accomplished. All of the fanfare went to other singers. I saw a program that he was on that the M.C. was idolizing Sinatra, and Bill just looked on in amusement, quite unimpressed. Will try to do more homework.

[ejworthy]

What a crooner...

[wietsk2]

Yes it is Leo Parker!

[SuperiorSpecimen]

IS that Leo Parker playing bari sax?

[ShaggaKhan]

Didn't know he started as leader of his own band. What a class entertainer. Smooth as silk. At 27 years old, I love this music and the classy, talented singers who performed it. This type of music makes me wish I'd been around in the 40's (except for the fact that Blacks had little rights in the 40's). Other than that, I'd have loved experiencing first hand this golden era of real singers and musicians.

[ilistenalot]

Great voice, lousy suit!

[divvy1400yam600]

Suit didnt fit very well did it, but I bet it was fashionable.

Maybe it was the suit he got when he escaped the Prison of Love.

[ilistenalot]

He became a fashion icon during the 50's. I used to wear shirts with Mr. B rolled collars and band jackets that he later sported.

I still listen to my albums of him.

Loved that Prisoner of Love reference.

[bacdraf]

billy ECK was the one of the best crooners of his era