Al Hibbler

Al Hibbler is best known for his work as the lead singer for the Duke Ellington Orchestra between 1943 and 1951, as well as a string of solo hits in the mid-1950s including the first hit version of the now-standard "Unchained Melody" in 1955. A 1972 collaboration with free jazz icon Rahsaan Roland Kirk, A MEETING OF THE TIMES, is beloved by fans, but Hibbler recorded very little after the 1950s. Blind from birth, Hibbler was born August 15, 1915, in Mississippi, and died April 24, 2001 in Chicago.