James Victor "Jimmy" Scott (July 17, 1925 – June
12, 2014), also known as "Little" Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz
vocalist
famous for his unusually high countertenor voice and his sensitivity
on ballads and love songs.
“Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” recorded at Scott’s second session with Hampton, gave the singer his first and only chart hit, placing at No. 6 on Billboard’s list of R&B jukebox platters. The labels of some Decca 78s mistakenly credited Irma Curry,
Hampton’s female vocalist at the time, but many fans knew better, especially women, who swooned at Scott’s every deliciously split syllable during his year on the road with Hampton.
After a series of successes in the 1940s and 1950s, Scott's
career faltered by the early 1960s. He slid into obscurity before launching a
well-received comeback in the 1990s. His unusual singing voice was due to
Kallmann's syndrome, a very rare genetic condition. The condition stunted his
growth at four feet eleven inches until, at the age of 37, he grew another
eight inches to the height of five feet seven inches. The condition prevented
him from reaching puberty, leaving him with a high, undeveloped voice.
One of ten children, James Victor Scott was born in
Cleveland, Ohio on July 17, 1925 .He was only 12 years old when he became known
as a singer around Cleveland . While in his teens a Comedian saw the potential
in Jimmy, he was Tim McCoy from Akron. Whenever Tim got a “gig” around
Northeast Ohio, he would take Jimmy along with him on the bill. Jimmy would
sing at different clubs, they would sneak him out before the cops arrived,
because he was not only under age, but looked even younger than his actual
years. Later Jimmy produced the Summer Festivals, a group of talented
youngsters, like his friend jazz baritone singer Jimmy Reed and dancer Barbara Taylor
that would put on shows all around the area.
Jimmy joined Lionel Hampton’s Band in 1948, where he
discovered the vibraphone and the strings, of which Jimmy said “helped him to
learn the beauty of the song” and encouraged him to sing. Lionel was a mentor
to Jimmy and the one who tagged him with the stage name, “Little Jimmy Scott”,
at the time he was 23, only 4’11,” thin, and very young looking. Jimmy said it
was a gimmick for Lionel’s show, but it wasn’t too many years later that you started
hearing more singers take their cue from Jimmy’s stage name and call themselves
Little So & So.
“Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” recorded at Scott’s second session with Hampton, gave the singer his first and only chart hit, placing at No. 6 on Billboard’s list of R&B jukebox platters. The labels of some Decca 78s mistakenly credited Irma Curry,
Hampton’s female vocalist at the time, but many fans knew better, especially women, who swooned at Scott’s every deliciously split syllable during his year on the road with Hampton.
Scott’s hit and three other songs were recorded with the Hampton orchestra, along with early Fifties solo sides for the Coral and Brunswick labels. The singer spent long periods away from the microphone. He worked for a time as a hotel shipping clerk and as a caretaker for his ailing father.
Jimmy met Estelle “Caldonia” Young in the early 1940′s; she
took Jimmy on her road show as the featured singer. Caldonia became almost a
surrogate mother to Jimmy, having lost his own mother at age 13. “Caldonia’s
Revue” traveled the southern circuit to the east, they put up their own stages
in the rural areas. Caldonia took Jimmy along with her to do a special
performance at Gamby’s in Baltimore in 1945, where he met up with his friend
Redd Foxx who was also appearing at Gamby’s. They went over to the Royal
Theater to see Joe Louis.
Redd and Joe told Jimmy he should be in New York
performing instead of traveling around to those small towns.
They convinced him he could make it on his own, the way he
sang. So they talked to Ralph Cooper who called up Nipsy Russell, the M.C. at
the Baby Grand in Harlem and arranged for Jimmy to get a one week booking.
Jimmy sang that one week and they kept him on for 3 more months! Billie Holiday
would show up nightly while in town to listen to Jimmy. Doc Pomus was in the
audience during that first week and wanted to meet this amazing singer, Jimmy
said “sure” and they became fast friends.
Scott and Doc Pomus friendship
lasted over 45 years. Jimmy sang at Doc’s funeral in 1991. It was there that
record label owner Seymour Stein heard Jimmy sing and practically signed him on
the spot, thus the beginning of Jimmy’s re-emergence as a singer with his
Grammy nominated comeback album “All The Way.” At age 67 he began to tour the
world, where he was introduced to new appreciative audiences and legions of new
young fans. Now, the press refers to him with reverence as the Golden Voice of
Jazz, the Legendary Jimmy Scott.
After a long climb, things were really looking up for Jimmy
Scott. He established a dedicated international audience through triumphant
tours of Europe and Japan and was the featured subject of a Bravo Profiles
television special, and of an in-depth biography by award-winning author David
Ritz (Faith in Time: The Jazz Life of Jimmy Scott, from Da Capo Press 2002).
In 2012, he joined the 11th annual Independent Music Awards
judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers. He died on June 12,
2014, aged 88 in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas, of cardiac arrest. (Info mainly Blue
Note Jazz Festival.com)
1 comment:
Little Jimmy Scott – Great Scott 2CD (2014)
For Disc 1 Go here:
http://www73.zippyshare.com/v/1PIByB9g/file.html
1. I WISH I KNEW
2. PLEASE GIVE ME A CHANCE
3. I'VE BEEN A FOOL (Thinking You Cared)
4. WHEEL OF FORTUNE
5. COME WHAT MAY
6. THEY SAY YOU CRY
7. WHEN YOU SURRENDER
8. SOMETHING FROM A FOOL
9. WHY WAS I BORN?
10. YOU NEVER MISS THE WATER (Till The Well Runs Dry)
11. SOLITUDE
12. IMAGINATION
13. HOW CAN I GO ON WITHOUT YOU
14. TIME ON MY HANDS
15. WHEN DID YOU LEAVE HEAVEN?
16. GUILTY
17. EVERYBODY NEEDS SOMEBODY
18. WHY DON'T YOU OPEN YOUR HEART
19. DON'T CRY BABY
20. STREET OF DREAMS
21. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
22. THE SHOW GOES ON
23. VERY TRULY YOURS
For Disc 2 Go here:
http://www78.zippyshare.com/v/Zz696iDU/file.html
1. SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MOTHERLESS CHILD
2. AN EVENING IN PARADISE
3. IF I EVER LOST YOU
4. I'M AFRAID THE MASQUERADE IS OVER
5. PLEASE FORGIVE ME
6. HOW ELSE
7. IF YOU ARE BUT A DREAM
8. THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
9. THINGS THAT ARE LOVE
10. EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY'S FOOL
11. ONCE
12. WHAT GOOD WOULD IT BE
13. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU
14. THEY SAY IT'S WONDERFUL
15. I WISH I DIDN'T LOVE YOU SO
16. THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE
17. IF I SHOULD LOSE YOU
18. WHY TRY TO CHANGE ME NOW?
19. I'M GETTING SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU
20. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME - (ALT VERSION)
21. HOW DEEP IS THE OCEAN?
22. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS
23. SUNDAY, MONDAY OR ALWAYS
It has to be said that many consider Little Jimmy Scott to be one of America's greatest jazz singers. This 'little' example of his work, spanning the years 1950-1962 proves just that!
Features the orchestras of Budd Johnson, Ray Charles and of course Lionel Hampton, with whom he recorded his only charting hit, 'Everybody's Somebody's Fool'.
Many of the songs on this collection went on to inspire artists such as, Nancy Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Frankie Valli and countless others to strive to be the best they could thanks to the sound and talent of this American original.
For “Jimmy Scott – The Source” (1969) go here:
http://www31.zippyshare.com/v/TMq6FHLm/file.html
01 Exodus 4:33
02 On Broadway 3:31
03 Our Day Will Come 3:46
04 I Wish I Knew 4:21
05 Unchained Melody 5:45
06 Day by Day 4:47
07 Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child 4:50
08 This Love of Mine 4:20
A unique moment from the legendary Jimmy Scott – a one-off album cut for Atlantic Records – recorded after his initial 50s fame, and decades before he’d finally get his due, much later in his life! The album’s got a style that’s a bit more mature than Scott’s initial sides – a bit more grown up in approach, even though Jimmy’s still got that really unique light tone to his vocals – and arranged by Arif Mardin and William Fischer in a hip blend of jazz and strings – with a slow-moving vibe that’s completely mesmerizing. The core instrumentation is by a group that includes Junior Mance on piano, Billy Butler on guitar, and Ron Carter on bass.
For over 40 years, Scott’s frankly feminine registers, delayed deliveries, easy shapings, and full-soul bellows have been a source of inspiration and style for everyone from Nancy Wilson to k.d. lang, and this collection carries that legendary legacy into the 21st century.
A big thank you to Funk My Soul Blog for the original link.
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