A new opera in Chicago provides more roles for black singers.

But he says there is still a general reluctance to engage black male singers for the long term.

"I was deeply influenced by black singers from the early 1960's," she said.

Many of the great black singers began in their local churches.

"But I do wonder why there are so few young black singers at the moment."

But black male singers, he said, have not fared nearly as well.

He was one of the first black singers to have a significant presence in country music.

He just may be the most popular black singer ever".

He was one of the relatively few black singers on the British pop scene in the early 1960s.

One of the first black singers to enjoy an international career in opera.