Bob Eberly
Bob Eberly (born July 24, 1916 in Mechanicsville , New York as Robert Eberle , † November 17, 1981 in Glen Burnie , Maryland ) was an American big band singer, known as the singer of the band of Jimmy Dorsey . His romantic baritone voice influenced the style of presentation of later crooners .
Live and act
Eberly won an amateur competition on the Fred Allen radio show and sang in clubs near his hometown of Hoosick Falls . When he sang on the Milton Berle show and the announcer kept mispronouncing his name, he changed it to make it easier to pronounce. The Dorsey brothers heard him and replaced with him the outgoing Bob Crosby in their big band . From 1935 to 1943 he was the singer in Jimmy Dorsey's band (which his brother Tommy had recently left). He was very popular as a singer, but resisted all temptations to leave the band and was also close friends with Jimmy Dorsey. Some of the duets he sang there with Helen O'Connell became hits ("Maria Elena", "Amapola", "Green Eyes" and "Brazil" as well as in the feature film The Fleet's In (1942) "Tangerine"); after O'Connell left the band he sang with her successor Kitty Kallen "Star Eyes", which came to number three on the charts. In 1944, he and Dorsey had a number one hit with " Besame Mucho ." His singing career was interrupted when he was called up for military service, where he sang in Wayne King's band. After the Second World War he could not build on his old successes, but continued to sing in small clubs. In 1947 he was seen in the musical film The Fabulous Dorseys ; In the early 1950s he was a regular on the television show "TV's Top Tunes". From the mid-1950s he had a record deal on the cheap label Grand Award . With the orchestra of Enoch Light he also played a few rock 'n' roll pieces ("Rock And Roll Rag"). He died of a heart attack.
His younger brother Ray Eberle was also a singer (in Glenn Miller's big band and in his own band).
Web links
- Biography at Solid
- Bob Eberly in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Short portrait at Jazzbiographies (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Big Band Data Base
- ↑ In Germany these records were sold on Austroton and Ariola.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Eberly, Bob |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Eberle, Robert (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American big band singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 24, 1916 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mechanicsville , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th November 1981 |
| Place of death | Glen Burnie , Maryland |