Al Hibbler
Albert George Al Hibbler was an American baritone vocalist, who sang with Duke Ellingtons orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of Hibblers singing is classified as rhythm and blues, but he is best seen as a bridge between RampB and traditional pop music. According to one authority, Hibbler cannot be regarded as a jazz singer but as an exceptionally good interpreter of twentiethcentury popular songs who happened to work with some of the best jazz musicians of the time.
Hibbler was born in Tyro, Mississippi, United States, and was blind from birth. At the age ofhe 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 Ellingtons orchestra, replacing Herb Jeffries.
Source: Wikipedia