JULY 8: BILLY ECKSTINE

NEW YORK (Top40 Charts) - Wednesday, July 8th: Today marks the birthday of an influential singer and bandleader who is now largely forgotten - Billy Eckstine. After years as a vocalist, he formed his own band in 1944, the first big band to feature the new jazz variant, called Bop.
The band headlined a "who's who" of future jazz stars, including Dizzy Gillispie, Miles Davis, and Charlie Parker, as well as singer Sarah Vaughn.

Eckstine also recorded a number of vocal hits, with his rich baritone, and even invented a popular, widely-flared shirt collar, known as the "Mr. B. Collar."

Bop recordings are still among the classics bought by jazz fans -- who purchase about 3 percent of recordings each year.