Billy Eckstine sang bebop-era jazz with an operatic bass-baritone smooth enough to cross over into the pop mainstream, fronting a 1940s big band that briefly housed Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. His 1941 hit 'Jelly, Jelly,' recorded with Earl Hines's orchestra, announced a voice that would go on to shape a generation of romantic balladeers. He died in 1993, remembered as one of the first Black pop idols to reach white audiences on his own terms.

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1941

Jelly, JellyBilly Eckstine