ARTIST
Collins, Eleanor
"Vancouver's first lady of jazz"November 21, 1919—
INSTRUMENT Voice
VENUE CBC Vancouver
"It's all music, really. Life is."
-Eleanor Collins
Born of parents who endured many hardships during their emigration from Oklahoma to Alberta in the early 1900s, vocalist Eleanor Collins was the first jazz singer and black woman to star in own national weekly variety/music TV series, The Eleanor Show (1955). Recognized as a Distinguished Pioneer by the City of Vancouver, Collins is a groundbreaking figure in Canadian history. "I didn't see a lot of my people on TV," she reflects. "I didn't have an example in the beginning because that was not the thing yet."
"Be at the right place at the right time. And wherever it is, blossom."
-Eleanor Collins
Collins grew up in a musical family who spent many cold Canadian prairie winters singing around the piano: "It's funny, but I was going to music school and didn't realize it." It was a visit to the West Coast where crocuses were blooming in January that made Eleanor decide to move to Vancouver in 1939. There she sang in vocal groups including The Three E's and The Swing Low Quartet (with her sister Ruby Sneed). Eleanor's television debut was in the large-scale West Coast musical variety production Bamboula, A Day in the West Indies (CBC, 1954). The following year, she was made host to her own national weekly television series, The Eleanor Show (CBC, 1955), which regularly featured many cherished Vancouver musicians including the Ray Norris Quintet, Fraser MacPherson, Dave Robbins, and pianist Chris Gage whom Collins performed with in many other concerts and CBC studio settings.
"I'm a survivor. I think that's what you could call it, but I'm enjoying it."
-Eleanor Collins
In 1952, Eleanor and her four children appeared in a Theatre Under the Stars musical production of Finian's Rainbow at Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. "They put dark make-up on one of the ladies who could sing and used her as the Sharecropper--a bigger role," Collins explains. When the show remounted in 1954, Eleanor accepted the offer to perform in it again, but on one condition: "I need to be doing the Sharecropper," she told them. And so she did. A few years later, Eleanor sang a rendition of "Look to the Rainbow" (arranged by Fred Stride) selected from the production's musical score on CBC TV with the Honourable Tommy Banks leading the orchestra (1980).
"It's the first time I had a real good feeling about being in Canada and being a Canadian."
-Eleanor Collins
A highlight for Eleanor Collins was when she headlined the Dominion Day Ceremonies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa (July 1, 1975). Greeted by a sea of people holding candles, Eleanor remembers walking out onstage to sing at the nation's capital. "Suddenly it came very clearly that I was Canadian," Eleanor recalls fondly, "and to be proud of it."
-Eleanor Collins
Born of parents who endured many hardships during their emigration from Oklahoma to Alberta in the early 1900s, vocalist Eleanor Collins was the first jazz singer and black woman to star in own national weekly variety/music TV series, The Eleanor Show (1955). Recognized as a Distinguished Pioneer by the City of Vancouver, Collins is a groundbreaking figure in Canadian history. "I didn't see a lot of my people on TV," she reflects. "I didn't have an example in the beginning because that was not the thing yet."
"Be at the right place at the right time. And wherever it is, blossom."
-Eleanor Collins
Collins grew up in a musical family who spent many cold Canadian prairie winters singing around the piano: "It's funny, but I was going to music school and didn't realize it." It was a visit to the West Coast where crocuses were blooming in January that made Eleanor decide to move to Vancouver in 1939. There she sang in vocal groups including The Three E's and The Swing Low Quartet (with her sister Ruby Sneed). Eleanor's television debut was in the large-scale West Coast musical variety production Bamboula, A Day in the West Indies (CBC, 1954). The following year, she was made host to her own national weekly television series, The Eleanor Show (CBC, 1955), which regularly featured many cherished Vancouver musicians including the Ray Norris Quintet, Fraser MacPherson, Dave Robbins, and pianist Chris Gage whom Collins performed with in many other concerts and CBC studio settings.
"I'm a survivor. I think that's what you could call it, but I'm enjoying it."
-Eleanor Collins
In 1952, Eleanor and her four children appeared in a Theatre Under the Stars musical production of Finian's Rainbow at Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. "They put dark make-up on one of the ladies who could sing and used her as the Sharecropper--a bigger role," Collins explains. When the show remounted in 1954, Eleanor accepted the offer to perform in it again, but on one condition: "I need to be doing the Sharecropper," she told them. And so she did. A few years later, Eleanor sang a rendition of "Look to the Rainbow" (arranged by Fred Stride) selected from the production's musical score on CBC TV with the Honourable Tommy Banks leading the orchestra (1980).
"It's the first time I had a real good feeling about being in Canada and being a Canadian."
-Eleanor Collins
A highlight for Eleanor Collins was when she headlined the Dominion Day Ceremonies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa (July 1, 1975). Greeted by a sea of people holding candles, Eleanor remembers walking out onstage to sing at the nation's capital. "Suddenly it came very clearly that I was Canadian," Eleanor recalls fondly, "and to be proud of it."
PHOTO GALLERY
Click on thumbnail for larger image
VIDEO
Eleanor Collins - "Look to the Rainbow"
Eleanor Collins - "Something Cool"
Eleanor Collins - first time at CBC Vancouver
Eleanor Collins - "Invitation" theme song
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Jazz Slate Fine Fare"
"Jazz Slate Fine Fare." The Ubyssey. 20 Sept 1963.
JazzStreet Vancouver Interview
Collins, Eleanor. Personal Interview with Colleen Savage. Vancouver, BC. 02 Nov 2005.
FOR MORE INFO
Oklahoma MigrationRead about how Eleanor Collins' family came to settle in Canada in the early 1900s.
Eleanor Collins bio on the Canadian Encyclopedia Online
