Almost Like a Song

from npr Jazz profiles: Johnny Hartman, 'The Romantic Balladeer'
Johnny Hartman was the quintessential romantic balladeer. The only singer to record with John Coltrane — on the iconic album John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman — his fame was limited mainly to true jazz lovers during his lifetime.

Some speculate that Hartman came on the scene at the wrong time, and that racism denied him potential opportunities for him. He was a handsome black man, whose voice somewhat resembled those of many successful white vocalists. The idea of a black man singing love ballads and swooning white females didn't sit well in 1950s America, particularly in the Deep South. Billy Eckstine was a black vocalist who had successfully crossed over to the mainstream, but not without backlash from white listeners who rejected his music.