Herb Jeffries

about

Herbert "Herb" Jeffries, born Umberto Alexander Valentino (September 24, 1913 – May 25, 2014), was an American jazz and popular singer and actor. In the 1940s and 1950s Jeffries recorded for a number of labels, including RCA Victor, Exclusive, Coral, Decca, Bethlehem, Columbia, Mercury and Trend. His album Jamaica, recorded by RKO, is a concept album of self-composed calypso songs. Jeffries was born Umberto Alexander Valentino in Detroit to an Irish mother who ran a rooming house, and a father, whom he never knew, of mixed Sicilian, Ethiopean, French, Italian and Moorish roots, on September 24, 1913. He once characterized himself in an interview as "three-eighths Negro", claiming pride in his racial heritage during a period when many other light-skinned black performers were attempting "to pass" as all-white in an effort to broaden their commercial appeal. In marked contrast, Jeffries used make-up to darken his skin—in order to pursue a career in jazz and to be seen as employable by the leading all-black musical ensembles of the day. Yet, much later in his career, Jeffries would assume the identify of a white citizen for economic or highly personal reasons. Jet reported that Jeffries identified himself as White and stated his "real" name as "Herbert Jeffrey Ball" on an application in order to marry Tempest Storm in 1959. Jeffries told the reporter for Jet: "... I'm not passing, I never have, I never will. For all these years I've been wavering about the color question on t

top songs

albums

Jamaica

Say It Isn't So

100 Years of Music

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All That Jazz, Vol. 28: From the Cotton Club Band to the Famous Orchestra – Duke Ellington (2015 Digital Remaster)

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Jazz & Blues Vol. 2

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Say It Isn't So (2013 Remastered Version)

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50 Sublimes Chanteurs de Jazz: 1940 - 1953

Flamingo

The Very Best Of

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The Singing Prophet (Remastered)

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The Jubilee Shows No. 19 & No. 20

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Blowing The Fuse: 26 R&B Classics That Rocked The Jukebox In 1945

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