I knew exactly what I was, and there was no hang-up with me. None whatsoever. The fact that the pigment of my skin maybe being lighter brown than other people of my race, maybe some of them, but you know our race has all colors.

He had to fight the system so things never quite fell into place. B as an idol.

Eckstine's recording of "I Apologize" (MGM Pop Single 1948) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. William Clarence Eckstine (July 8 1914 – March 8 1993) was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era.