Budd Johnson discusses arranging.

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Budd Johnson discusses Count Basie as an editor.

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Budd Johnson discusses Billy Eckstine.

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Q: “You, as an established musician, were really right at the fountainhead of what we now call bebop music and really formed the first Billy Eckstine band for him and worked as the musical director of that group and that was the real melting pot and the place where bebop really came together in a lot of ways, didn’t it?

A: “Well, like, I had Ike sign in the band, actually. Well, I was with Earl. We played Pittsburgh, which is Billy’s hometown. We played... what is it? The Stanley Theater there, I think? And Billy came by to see us, you know, and he introduced himself and everything, you know. And I didn’t know him as a singer, really. He just came by to hang out, you know, and then we met. And then later on in Washington DC, he was singing at the Crystal Cabins. And I went down and I heard this guy saying, “Wow. This guy is something else, you know." And I said, “Hey, man. Why don’t you come to Chicago?” He said “Oh, man. I can’t come to Chicago.” He said, “You've got too many great singers around there.” I said, “Nobody can out-sing you around Chicago, man. You come to Chicago and I’ll get you in the band.” You know, he said, "Oh, I don’t know." So we went on. We were talking. It was raining and we had finished the Howard Theater and the bus was sitting out front ready to pull us out, so we finally left and then we came to Detroit later on and Billy was there. He was emcee of the night club and he was singing and doing a little dance and whatnot, you know, and I couldn’t find a room. Everybody got a room but me, so Billy said, “Well, I’ve got a single in the hotel. Why don’t you come up there to my room.“ And I said, “Well, okay, man, you know.” So he let me sleep there with him that night in his room. And then I have further tried to convince him to come on to Chicago, so I finally did. Well, when he came to Chicago, and actually he wasn’t with Earl's band right away, so he worked to the place called Mike Felici’s [ph]. And all in the meantime, I was laying the groundwork for him to join the band, so finally I convinced Earl and he joined the band, and we became great friends.”