Jimmy Scott
Encyclopedia
Jimmy Scott aka "Little" Jimmy Scott, is an American
jazz
vocalist famous for his unusually high contralto
voice which is due to Kallmann's syndrome, a very rare genetic condition. The condition stunted his growth at four feet eleven inches until, at age 37, he grew another 8 inches to the height of five foot seven inches. The condition prevented him from reaching puberty
, leaving him with a high, undeveloped voice, hence his nickname "Little" Jimmy Scott.
to Authur and Justine Stanard Scott, the third in a family of ten. As a child he got his first singing experience by his mother's side at the family piano, and later, in church choir
. At thirteen, he was orphaned when his mother was killed by a drunk driver.
He first rose to national prominence as "Little Jimmy Scott" in the Lionel Hampton Band
when he sang lead on the late 1940s hit "Everybody's Somebody's Fool
", recorded in December 1949, and which became a top ten R&B hit in 1950. Credit on the label, however, went to "Lionel Hampton and vocalists," so the singer's name did not appear on any of the songs. This omission of credit was not only a slight to his talent but a big blow to his career. A similar professional insult occurred several years later when his vocals on "Embraceable You" with Charlie Parker, on the album "One Night in Birdland", was credited to female vocalist Chubby Newsome.
Lionel Hampton
gave him the stage name of "Little Jimmy Scott" because he looked so young, and was short and slight of build. However, it was his extraordinary phrasing and romantic feeling that made him a favorite singer of fellow artists like Billie Holiday
, Ray Charles
, Frankie Valli
, Dinah Washington
, and Nancy Wilson
.
In 1963, it looked as though Scott's luck had changed for the good. Signed to Ray Charles
's Tangerine Records
label, under the supervision of Charles himself, creating what is considered by many to be one of the great jazz vocal albums of all time, Falling in Love is Wonderful
Owing to obligations on a contract Jimmy had signed earlier with Herman Lubinsky, the record was yanked from the shelves in a matter of days, while Jimmy was honeymooning. 40 years later this cult album became available to the public again. Jimmy disputes the 'lifetime' contract; Lubinsky loaned Jimmy out to Syd Nathan at King Records for 45 recordings in 1957-58. Another album The Source (1969), was not released until 2001.
Scott's career faded by the late 1960s and he returned to his native Cleveland to work as a hospital orderly, shipping clerk and as an elevator operator in a hotel.
, an event which single-handedly sparked his career renaissance. Afterwards Lou Reed
recruited him to sing back-up on the track "Power and Glory" from his 1992 album Magic and Loss
, which was inspired, to an extent, by Pomus' death. Scott was seen on the series finale
of David Lynch
's television series Twin Peaks
, singing "Sycamore Trees", a song with lyrics by Lynch and music by Angelo Badalamenti
. He was featured on the soundtrack
of the follow-up film Fire Walk With Me.
Also in attendance at Pomus' funeral was Seymour Stein
, founder and operator of Sire Records
who released his 1992 album "All The Way". Produced by Tommy Lipuma and featuring artists such as Kenny Barron, Ron Carter
, and David "Fathead" Newman. Jimmy Scott was nominated for a Grammy Award for this album.
He followed this up with the album "Dream" in 1994, the jazz-gospel album "Heaven" in 1996 and an album of pop and rock interpretations entitled "Holding Back the Years" in 1998, notable for its version of Prince's
"Nothing Compares 2 U
".
In 1999, his early recordings on the Decca label were re-released on CD, as were all of his recordings with the Savoy Label between 1952 and 1975 in a 3 disc Box Set. In 2000, Scott signed to the Milestone jazz label, and recorded four critically acclaimed albums, each produced by Todd Barkan, and featuring a variety of jazz artists, including Wynton Marsalis
, Renee Rosnes, Bob Kindred, Eric Alexander, Lew Soloff, George Mraz, Lewis Nash, as well as Jimmy's own touring and recording band "The Jazz Expressions". He also released two live albums, both recorded in Japan, featuring the Jazz Expressions.
, Lester Young
, Lionel Hampton
, Charles Mingus
, Fats Navarro
, Quincey Jones, Bud Powell
, Ray Charles
, Wynton Marsalis
, and Peter Cincotti
. He has also performed with a host of musicians from other genres of music, such as David Byrne
, Lou Reed
, Flea
, Michael Stipe
, and Antony & The Johnsons.
Scott performed at President Dwight Eisenhower's (1953) and President Bill Clinton
's (1993) inaugurations where he sang the same song "Why Was I Born". Most recently he has appeared in live performances with Pink Martini
, and continues to perform internationally at music festivals and at his own concerts.
In 2007, Scott received the 2007 NEA Jazz Masters National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master Award. Scott also received the Kennedy Center's "Jazz In Our Time" Living Legend Award, and N.A.B.O.B.'s Pioneer Award in 2007.
In September 2008 he did a "two-day video interview" at his Vegas home with the "Smithsonian Institute for the National Archives".
For the last three years Scott and his wife Jeanie have been living in Las Vegas, Nevada
, after living in Euclid, Ohio for 10 years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
vocalist famous for his unusually high contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
voice which is due to Kallmann's syndrome, a very rare genetic condition. The condition stunted his growth at four feet eleven inches until, at age 37, he grew another 8 inches to the height of five foot seven inches. The condition prevented him from reaching puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
, leaving him with a high, undeveloped voice, hence his nickname "Little" Jimmy Scott.
Early life and career
Scott was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
to Authur and Justine Stanard Scott, the third in a family of ten. As a child he got his first singing experience by his mother's side at the family piano, and later, in church choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. At thirteen, he was orphaned when his mother was killed by a drunk driver.
He first rose to national prominence as "Little Jimmy Scott" in the Lionel Hampton Band
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
when he sang lead on the late 1940s hit "Everybody's Somebody's Fool
Everybody's Somebody's Fool
"Everybody's Somebody's Fool" is a song written by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield which was a #1 hit for Connie Francis in mid 1960....
", recorded in December 1949, and which became a top ten R&B hit in 1950. Credit on the label, however, went to "Lionel Hampton and vocalists," so the singer's name did not appear on any of the songs. This omission of credit was not only a slight to his talent but a big blow to his career. A similar professional insult occurred several years later when his vocals on "Embraceable You" with Charlie Parker, on the album "One Night in Birdland", was credited to female vocalist Chubby Newsome.
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
gave him the stage name of "Little Jimmy Scott" because he looked so young, and was short and slight of build. However, it was his extraordinary phrasing and romantic feeling that made him a favorite singer of fellow artists like Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Frankie Valli
Frankie Valli
Frankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice...
, Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
, and Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson (singer)
Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
.
In 1963, it looked as though Scott's luck had changed for the good. Signed to Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
's Tangerine Records
Tangerine Records
Tangerine Records is the name of at least two different record labels:* Tangerine Records - a United States based company.* Tangerine Records - a United Kingdom based company....
label, under the supervision of Charles himself, creating what is considered by many to be one of the great jazz vocal albums of all time, Falling in Love is Wonderful
Owing to obligations on a contract Jimmy had signed earlier with Herman Lubinsky, the record was yanked from the shelves in a matter of days, while Jimmy was honeymooning. 40 years later this cult album became available to the public again. Jimmy disputes the 'lifetime' contract; Lubinsky loaned Jimmy out to Syd Nathan at King Records for 45 recordings in 1957-58. Another album The Source (1969), was not released until 2001.
Scott's career faded by the late 1960s and he returned to his native Cleveland to work as a hospital orderly, shipping clerk and as an elevator operator in a hotel.
Comeback and later work
Scott eventually resurfaced in 1991 when he sang at the funeral of his long-time friend Doc PomusDoc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder, better known as Doc Pomus , was a twentieth-century American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of non-performer in 1992. He was also inducted into...
, an event which single-handedly sparked his career renaissance. Afterwards Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
recruited him to sing back-up on the track "Power and Glory" from his 1992 album Magic and Loss
Magic and Loss
Magic and Loss is a concept album by Lou Reed, released in 1992. It was his sixteenth album. It was inspired in part by the illnesses and eventual deaths of two close friends: songwriter Doc Pomus, who gave Reed his start in the music business some 25 years earlier, and 'Rita.' Some in the music...
, which was inspired, to an extent, by Pomus' death. Scott was seen on the series finale
Beyond Life and Death
"Episode 29", also known as "Beyond Life and Death", is the 30th and final episode of the mystery television series Twin Peaks. It first aired on June 10, 1991.-Plot synopsis:...
of David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's television series Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
, singing "Sycamore Trees", a song with lyrics by Lynch and music by Angelo Badalamenti
Angelo Badalamenti
Angelo Badalamenti is an American composer, known for his movie soundtrack work for director David Lynch, notably Blue Velvet, the Twin Peaks saga and Mulholland Drive...
. He was featured on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the follow-up film Fire Walk With Me.
Also in attendance at Pomus' funeral was Seymour Stein
Seymour Stein
Seymour Stein is an entrepreneur in the music industry who has been a part of the business since getting his first job as a clerk for Billboard magazine in 1958. Stein is a vice president of Warner Bros...
, founder and operator of Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
who released his 1992 album "All The Way". Produced by Tommy Lipuma and featuring artists such as Kenny Barron, Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, and David "Fathead" Newman. Jimmy Scott was nominated for a Grammy Award for this album.
He followed this up with the album "Dream" in 1994, the jazz-gospel album "Heaven" in 1996 and an album of pop and rock interpretations entitled "Holding Back the Years" in 1998, notable for its version of Prince's
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
"Nothing Compares 2 U
Nothing Compares 2 U
"Nothing Compares 2 U" is a pop song written by American recording artist Prince for one of his side-projects, The Family. However, it wasn't until Sinéad O'Connor recorded her version for the album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got when it became a worldwide hit, topping charts in 15 countries,...
".
In 1999, his early recordings on the Decca label were re-released on CD, as were all of his recordings with the Savoy Label between 1952 and 1975 in a 3 disc Box Set. In 2000, Scott signed to the Milestone jazz label, and recorded four critically acclaimed albums, each produced by Todd Barkan, and featuring a variety of jazz artists, including Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
, Renee Rosnes, Bob Kindred, Eric Alexander, Lew Soloff, George Mraz, Lewis Nash, as well as Jimmy's own touring and recording band "The Jazz Expressions". He also released two live albums, both recorded in Japan, featuring the Jazz Expressions.
Legacy
Jimmy Scott's career has spanned sixty five years. He has performed with a list of artists that reads like a history of jazz music of the time, including Charlie Parker, Sarah VaughanSarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
, Fats Navarro
Fats Navarro
Theodore "Fats" Navarro was an American jazz trumpet player. He was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, most notably Clifford Brown.-Life:Navarro was born in Key West, Florida, to Cuban-Black-Chinese parentage...
, Quincey Jones, Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
, and Peter Cincotti
Peter Cincotti
Peter Cincotti is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He attended the Horace Mann School and Columbia University.-Biography:...
. He has also performed with a host of musicians from other genres of music, such as David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
, Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, Flea
Flea (musician)
Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
, Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
, and Antony & The Johnsons.
Scott performed at President Dwight Eisenhower's (1953) and President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's (1993) inaugurations where he sang the same song "Why Was I Born". Most recently he has appeared in live performances with Pink Martini
Pink Martini
Pink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.-History:...
, and continues to perform internationally at music festivals and at his own concerts.
In 2007, Scott received the 2007 NEA Jazz Masters National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master Award. Scott also received the Kennedy Center's "Jazz In Our Time" Living Legend Award, and N.A.B.O.B.'s Pioneer Award in 2007.
In September 2008 he did a "two-day video interview" at his Vegas home with the "Smithsonian Institute for the National Archives".
For the last three years Scott and his wife Jeanie have been living in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, after living in Euclid, Ohio for 10 years.
Albums
- Very Truly Yours (Savoy) (1955)
- If You Only Knew (Savoy) (1956)
- The Fabulous Songs Of Jimmy Scott (Savoy) 1960)
- Falling In Love Is Wonderful (Tangerine) (1963) (Re-issue 2003)
- The Source (Atlantic) (1969) (Re-issue 2001)
- Can't We Begin Again (Savoy) (1975)
- Doesn't Love Mean More (J's Way) (1990)
- Live In New Orleans (1951 Concert) (Fantasy) (1991)
- All The Way (Sire) (1992)
- Dream (Sire) (1994)
- Heaven (Sire) (1996)
- Holding Back The Years (Artists Only) (1998)
- Mood Indigo (Milestone) (2000)
- Over The Rainbow (Milestone) (2001)
- Unchained Melody (Live Album) (Tokuma) (2001)
- But Beautiful (Milestone) (2002)
- Moonglow (Milestone) (2003)
- All Of Me: Live In Tokyo (Venus) (2004)
- Pearls album by Dave Sanborn (Alto Sax) featuring Jimmy Scott
Compilations
- Lost And Found (Rhino) (1993)
- Bravo Profiles: A Jazz Master (Bravo) (1993)
- All Over Again (Savoy Jazz) (1995)
- Everybody's Somebody's Fool (Universal) (1999)
- The Savoy Years & More (Box Set) (Savoy Jazz) (1999)
- Les Incontournables (Warner) (2000)
- Timeless (Savoy Jazz) (2002)
- Someone To Watch Over Me (2-Disc) (Warner) (2004)
- The Essential Jimmy Scott (Metro) (2005)
- Milestone Profiles: Jimmy Scott (Milestone) (2006)
Filmography
- Twin Peaks – "29-Beyond Life and Death" (1991)
- Scotch & Milk (1998)
- Chelsea WallsChelsea WallsChelsea Walls is an American independent film directed by Ethan Hawke and released by Lions Gate Entertainment. It stars Kris Kristofferson, Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson, and Robert Sean Leonard among others, with original score by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. The story takes place in the historic Chelsea...
(2002) - Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen (2002) (TV)
- Jimmy Scott: If You Only KnewJimmy Scott: If You Only KnewJimmy Scott: If You Only Knew is a film portrait of the now famous jazz vocalist who was "rediscovered" decades after he disappeared from the public eye....
(DVD) (2003) - Passion Play (2011)