Al Hibbler

Albert George Hibbler (August 16, 1915 – April 24, 2001) was an American baritone vocalist, who sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of Hibbler's singing is classified as rhythm and blues, but he is best seen as a bridge between R&B and traditional pop music. According to one authority, "Hibbler cannot be regarded as a jazz singer but as an exceptionally good interpreter of twentieth-century popular songs who happened to work with some of the best jazz musicians of the time."

Early life Hibbler was born in Tyro, Mississippi, United States, and was blind from birth. At the age of 12 he moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he attended Arkansas School for the Blind, joining the school choir. Later he began working as a blues singer in local bands, failing his first audition for Duke Ellington in 1935. However, after winning an amateur talent contest in Memphis, Tennessee, he was given his start with Dub Jenkins and his Playmates; Jenkins was a popular Memphis saxophonist and bandleader. He later joined a band led by Jay McShann in 1942, and the following year joined Ellington's orchestra, replacing Herb Jeffries. While with Ellington, Hibbler won the Esquire New Star Award in 1947 and the Down Beat award for Best Band Vocalist in 1949. In 1954 he released a more successful album, Al Hibbler Sings Duke Ellington, and in 1955, he started recording with Decca Records, with immediate success. His biggest hit was "Unchained Melody", which reached No. 3 on the US pop chart, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Hibbler's version also reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming his only chart hit in the United Kingdom. Its success led to network appearances, including a live jazz club remote on NBC's Monitor. Other hits were "He" (1955), In 1972 he made an album, A Meeting of the Times, with another fiercely independent blind musician, the multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk. U.S. R&B UK 1946

Aladdin 154

1950

Atlantic 911

Atlantic 925

Atlantic 932

Atlantic 945

Chess 1455

Chess 1456

Chess 1457

Chess 1481 1952

Mercury 89011

"Sent for You Yesterday and Here You Come Today"b/w "Goin' to Chicago" Mercury 89028

Mercury 89046

Clef 89095

Chess 1569

Norgran 114

"After the Lights Go Down Low" (Original version)b/w "Tell Me" Original 1006

Original 1008

Decca 29441 (US)Brunswick 05420 (UK)

Decca 29543

Atlantic 1071

Decca 29660

Norgran 143

Decca 29789

Decca 29982

"Don't Take Your Love from Me"b/w "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" Aladdin 3328

Decca 30100

Decca 30127

"Trees" (re-recording)b/w "The Town Crier" Decca 30176

Decca 30268

Decca 30337

Decca 30397

Decca 30483

Decca 30547

Decca 30622

Decca 30684

"Love Land"b/w "Love Me Long, Hold Me Close, Kiss Me Warm and Tender" Decca 30752

Decca 30817

Decca 30870

Decca 30946 1960

Top Rank 2089 1961

Reprise 20035 1962

Reprise 20077 1966

Satin 401 1967 "Let's Make the Most of a Beautiful Thing"b/w "Early One Morning" Vegas 711

Albums Sings Duke Ellington (Norgran, 1954) Favorites (Norgran, 1954) Melodies by Al Hibbler (Argo/Chess, 1956) Sings Love Songs (Verve, 1956) Starring Al Hibbler (Decca, 1956) After the Lights Go Down Low: The Voice of Al Hibbler (Atlantic, 1957) Here's Hibbler (Decca, 1957) I Surrender Dear (Score/Aladdin, 1957) Torchy and Blue (Decca, 1958) Al Hibbler Remembers (Decca, 1958) Hits by Hibbler (Decca, 1958) Monday Every Day: Al Hibbler Sings the Blues (Reprise, 1961) Big Boy Blues (Grand Prix Series, 1964) Shades of Blue (Sunset, 1968) A Meeting of the Times with Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Atlantic, 1972) Christmas with Al Hibbler (Holiday, 1981) Solitude (Pickwick, 1997)

With Count Basie Basie Jazz (Clef MGC-633, 1954 [recordings from 1952])

Compilations The Chronological Al Hibbler 1946–1949 Classics, 2002) The Chronological Al Hibbler 1950–1952 (Classics, 2003)