Eleanor Collins (born Elnora Ruth Procter; November 21, 1919) is a Canadian jazz singer, television host and civic leader. She is known as the Canadian First Lady of Jazz.

Early life

Elnora Ruth Procter was born on November 21, 1919, in Edmonton, Alberta. Her parents were of Black and Creole Indian heritage and were originally from the state of

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. They were drawn to the area by a 1906 advertisement to purchase a quarter section () of land for $10, among more than 10,000 black homesteaders who did so. As a girl, she sang and played hymns, religious songs, and anthems, and was involved in Shiloh Baptist Church in Edmonton, a congregation formed by those recent immigrants.

Music and media career

At age 15, she won a talent contest in Edmonton. She then sang with Joe Macelli's dance band, and the Three Es, and on CFRN. In 1938, she relocated to Vancouver and began performing with the Swing Low Quartette, a gospel group that consisted of Collins, her sister, Ruby Sneed, along with Edna Panky and Zandy Price. They performed on CBC Radio from 1940 through 1942. In 1945, she began singing with Ray Norris' jazz quintet on ''Serenade in Rhythm'', also on CBC Radio; a program that ran for several years and was broadcast to troops overseas. After a brief retirement from 1948 through 1952 she appeared at Theatre Under the Stars in ''

Finian's Rainbow ''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was re ...

'' in 1952 and 1954 and '' Kiss Me, Kate'' in 1953, and in a staging of '' You Can't Take it With You''. In 1954 she began on the CBC Vancouver TV program ''Bamboula: A Day in the West Indies'', marking the first interracial cast in Canada, and the first variety series produced in Vancouver. She was invited by CBC to star in ''The Eleanor Show'', that ran from June 19 to September 11, 1955, making her the first woman, first person of colour, and first jazz singer to headline a show on national TV, predating the ''

Nat King Cole Show Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

''. That was followed by ''Blues and the Ballad'' and ''Eleanor Sings the Blues'', both in 1960, ''Were You There?'' in 1961, and ''Quintet'' in 1962. She starred in her second television program, ''Eleanor'', that aired from February 1 to March 2, 1964, with the Chris Gage Trio providing musical backup. She also appeared on many radio and television programs through the 1960s and 70s on both CBC and

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

, remaining in Canada despite offers to move to the U.S. In addition to singing on TV and radio variety shows, she performed in clubs and in concert with Chris Gage, Lance Harrison, Doug Parker and Dave Robbins. Often compared to

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

and Ella Fitzgerald, she recorded with Ray Norris in 1951 and appeared on CBC broadcast albums by Gage and Robbins in the 1960s. The only recordings she made were for the CBC. She continued to perform through the 1970s, was a music director at the local Unity Church, and performed for

Canada Day Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...

celebrations in 1975, before 80,000 spectators on Parliament Hill. In later years she performed occasionally in concert and on TV including at the Jazz City International Jazz Festival in Edmonton in the 1980s and on ''Jazz Canada'' with the Tommy Banks orchestra and the ''Jazzland'' radio program. She later sang at the Vancouver nightclub Richard's on Richards with saxophonist Fraser MacPherson and took part in a tribute show for longtime CBC Vancouver's ''Hot Jazz'' host Bob Smith, and in a January 2016 memorial service for

Leon Bibb Leon Bibb (born October 5, 1944 in Butler, Alabama) is an American news anchor and commentator for WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a member of the BGSU Board of Trustees. Leon Bibb was the first African American primetime news anchor in Ohio. ...

. She has also performed with

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

, Oscar Peterson and

Phil Nimmons Phillip Rista Nimmons, (born June 3, 1923) is a Canadian jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and educator. Nimmons is known for playing in a "Free Jazz" and mainstream styles. As well as playing jazz, Nimmons also played other genres, notab ...

Civic life

She married Richard Collins in 1942 and remained married for 70 years. Together they moved to Burnaby in 1948 with her four children, Rick, Judith, Barry and Tom. As the only black family in the neighbourhood, her neighbours started an unsuccessful petition to prevent them from moving in. Her children were bullied at school. Collins in turn, volunteered at the school and began teaching music to Girl Guides. The family was included in the video documentary ''Hymn to Freedom: The History of Blacks in Canada'' in 1994. She moved to

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

in the early 1990s. She was awarded the Order of Canada on her 95th birthday: November 21, 2014, and reached her 100th birthday in 2019. Canada Post honoured her with a commemorative stamp on January 21, 2022.

Honours

* Distinguished Centennial Pioneer Award – 1986 * BC Entertainment Hall of Fame Star – 1992 * BC Black Historical Society Award * Alberta Black Cultural Research Society Award * ACTRA Sam Payne Award – 2006 * Order of Canada – 2014 * Black Canadian Awards Lifetime Achievement Award – 2014 * Commemorative stamp – 2022

References

External links