The blind singer Al Hibbler, who has died aged 85, was once described by Duke Ellington as "our major asset". The great bandleader was referring to Hibbler's deep-toned, dramatic vocal style, with its heavy vibrato... "You could drive a truck through that vibrato," said one musician... which brought Hibbler and the band considerable popular acclaim. He achieved national prominence in the United States with the Ellington orchestra in the mid-1940s, and went on to build a substantial career, which included continuing involvement with jazz musicians.
But Hibbler's historic place in popular music was achieved by being the artist who originally recorded the hit, Unchained Melody, in the mid-1950s. Numerous singers, including the Righteous Brothers, have recorded the number since, many obviously influenced by Hibbler's recording .
Hibbler was born in Tyro, Mississippi, but spent his formative years in Little Rock, where he attended the Ark- ansas school for the blind. He joined the school choir as a soprano, but, once his voice deepened, found opportunities to sing the blues in juke joints and bars around Texas and Arkansas.
Influenced by Pha Terrel, the ballad singer with the Andy Kirk band, Hibbler won amateur contests in Memphis, formed his own group and went on the road. In the pre-civil rights atmosphere of the 1930s, times were tough for black artists in the southern states... doubly so in Hibbler's case... but he prospered, learning his trade with a succession of southwestern territory bands, including those of Dub Jenkins and Boots and his Buddies.
Kansas City bandleader Jay McShann was the next to hire him. "I could tell Hibbler had it, so I wired him to join us in Kansas City," he said. By the time the band, including bebop pioneer Charlie Parker, arrived in New York, Hibbler had displaced McShann's other vocalists, and was to tour with him for the next two years.
It was in New York in 1943 that Ellington got wind of the singer's talent, when his musicians began to sing Hibbler's praises. Ellington was dubious about adding another man to his payroll but, once persuaded, never ceased to marvel at Hibbler's contorted style, describing it as `tonal pantomime.' He was also impressed by Hibbler's ability to learn endless new songs, and by his extraordinary range of vocal devices, as shown, for example, on Do Nothing Until You Hear From Me, and in a memorable section of Ellington's six-part Liberian Suite.
While some critics found Hibbler's style hard to take, his fans were sufficient in number to bring him the Esquire New Star Award as best male singer in 1947, and the Downbeat award as best band singer in 1948-49. He toured with Ellington for eight years, majoring latterly on lachrymose ballads such as Trees and Danny Boy, until 1951, when leader and singer fell out over money.
Once away from Ellington, Hibbler became busy on the club circuit, recording frequently, sometimes with Ellington's colleagues, such as the Duke's son Mercer (with whose band he toured) and alto-saxophonist Johnny Hodges. He was signed to the Verve label, but had little success until 1955, when he recorded Unchained Melody for Decca. Originally a film theme, Hibbler's version went to No 3 in the US charts, and was followed a year later by another hit, After The Lights Go Down Low.
Hibbler's involvement with the civil rights movement of the 1960s... he was arrested twice on protest marches... curtailed his career. It was not until Frank Sinatra championed his cause by giving him a Reprise contract, that he worked again.
In more recent years, less was heard of Hibbler, though he sang at Louis Armstrong's funeral in 1971, and, a year later, recorded with the blind multi-instrumentalist Rashaan Roland Kirk. His last public appearance was at the Lincoln Center, New York, in January 1999, with a group of old Ellington alumni, his vibrato as stunning as ever as he sang Time After Time.
Hibbler settled in Chicago, where he died. He is survived by a sister and a brother.