Little Jimmy Scott
| Jimmy Scott | |
|---|---|
Jimmy and Jeanie Scott at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, September 4, 2004
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Victor Scott |
| Born |
July 17, 1925 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | June 12, 2014 (aged 88) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Singing |
| Years active | 1945–2014 |
| Labels | Savoy, Decca, Roost, Regal, Tangerine, King, Atlantic, J's Way, Sire, Warner Bros., Artists Only, Milestone, Venus - Japan |
| Website | www |
James Victor "Jimmy" Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), often credited as Little Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist famous for his high countertenor voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs.
After success in the 1940s and 1950s, Scott's career faltered in the early 1960s. He slid into obscurity before launching a comeback in the 1990s. His unusual singing voice was due to Kallmann syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that limited his height to 4 feet 11 inches (150 cm) until the age of 37, when he grew by 8 inches (20 cm). The syndrome prevented him from reaching puberty and left him with a high voice.
Scott was born in Cleveland, Ohio. The son of Arthur and Justine Stanard Scott, he was the third child 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 13, he was orphaned when his mother was killed by a drunk driver.
Lionel Hampton gave him the nickname "Little Jimmy Scott" because he looked young and was short and of slight build. His phrasing made him a favorite of artists such as Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Frankie Valli, Dinah Washington, and Nancy Wilson.
He first rose to prominence as "Little Jimmy Scott" in the Lionel Hampton Band as lead singer on "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", recorded in December 1949. It became a top ten R&B hit in 1950. Credit on the label went to "Lionel Hampton and vocalists"; Scott received no credit on any of the songs. A similar event occurred several years later when his vocal on "Embraceable You" with Charlie Parker, on the album One Night in Birdland, was credited to the female vocalist Chubby Newsom.
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