Tuesday 15 December 2015

Jesse Belvin born 15 December 1932


Jesse Lorenzo Belvin (December 15, 1932 – February 6, 1960) was an American R&B singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s, whose success was cut short by his death in a car crash aged 27.

Belvin was born in Texarkana, Texas, and moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of five.

In 1950 he joined saxophonist Big Jay McNeely's backing vocal quartet, Three Dots and a Dash, and featured prominently on their record releases. In 1952 he joined Specialty Records. Although his early solo records were unsuccessful, his fourth record, "Dream Girl", credited to Jesse & Marvin and featuring Marvin Phillips on saxophone, reached #2 on the R&B charts in 1953.

He was then drafted into the army, but continued to write songs. His composition "Earth Angel", eventually co-credited to Belvin and Hollywood Flames singers Curtis Williams and Gaynel Hodge after a legal dispute, was recorded by the Penguins, and became one of the first R&B singles to cross over onto the pop charts, selling a million copies in 1954/55.

 


In 1956, he signed a contract with Modern Records, but also continued to sing for other labels under different names. His biggest hit was "Goodnight My Love" which reached #7 on the R&B chart. The piano on the session was reportedly played by the 11-year-old Barry White. The song became the closing theme to Alan Freed's rock and roll radio shows.

Belvin’s other recordings for Modern were less successful, and in 1958 he recorded on Dot Records with a group, the Shields, whoincluded lead singer Frankie Ervin and guitarist Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Their record, "You Cheated", reached #15 on the US pop chart and #11 on the R&B chart. He also recorded with Eugene Church as the Cliques on a less successful single, "Girl of My Dreams" which was covered by the Four Lovers, two of whose members including Frankie Valli would later become the Four Seasons.

Inspired by his wife and manager Jo Ann to develop his style, he signed to RCA Records in 1959, and immediately had a Top 40 hit with "Guess Who", written by his wife. He also recorded an album, Just Jesse Belvin, developing a more mature and sophisticated sound on ballads. His style was influenced by Nat "King" Cole and Billy Eckstine, and became a model for Sam Cooke and others. He acquired the nickname "Mr. Easy", and the record company began moulding him as a potential crossover star for white audiences, as well as a professional rival to Capitol Records' recording star Nat "King" Cole.

He recorded a further series of tracks later in the year, with arranger Marty Paich and an orchestra including saxophonist Art Pepper. The songs included soulful covers of standards like "Blues in the Night", "In the Still of the Night", and "Makin' Whoopee", and were issued on the album Mr. Easy.

However, before the album was issued, and shortly after finishing a performance in Little Rock on a bill with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and Marv Johnson, Belvin and his wife were killed in a head-on collision at Hope, Arkansas.

The concert was the first concert played before an integrated audience in the history of Little Rock, and was stopped twice by interruptions from whites in the audience, shouting racial epithets and urging the white teenagers in attendance to leave at once. There had also been several death threats on Belvin prior to the concert, which led to speculation that his car had been tampered with prior to the accident. The actual cause of the accident was the driver who nodded off and lost control. The driver had been recently fired for falling asleep at the wheel by another musical act.   (Info Wikipedia)

3 comments:

boppinbob said...

For Jesse Belvin – Guess Who (The RCA Recordings) go here:

http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/61673455/file.html

01 Secret Love
02 Love Is Here To Stay
03 Ol' Man River
04 Now You Know
05 Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart
06 Guess Who
07 Witchcraft
08 My Funny Valentine
09 Funny
10 Take Me Back To The Island
11 (I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over
12 Alright, Okay, You Win
13 Ever Since We Met
14 Pledging My Love
15 My Girl Is Just Enough Women For Me
16 Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)
17 Old Mac Donald
18 Dandilyon

And Here:

http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/52742156/file.html

01 Give Me Love
02 I'll Never Be Lonely Again
03 The Door Is Always Open
04 It Could Have Been Worse
05 Here's A Heart
06 It's All Right With Me
07 Something Happens To Me
08 What's New
09 In The Still Of The Night
10 Blues In The Night
11 Let There Be Love
12 Imagination
13 The Best Is Yet To Come
14 Makin' Whoopee
15 Angel Eyes
16 I'll Buy You A Star
17 The Very Thought Of You
18 My Last Goodbye

A big thanks to Jake @ Jukebox city for links.


D said...

Hi Bob,
Can I get re-up on the Jesse Belvin albums?
thanks

boppinbob said...

hello Denis, here's Jesse......
https://workupload.com/file/Tv7J4M8Up28