Jimmy Scott(1925- ） at B flat, Tokyo
August 2003 (photo by K.Wakayama)

Jimmy Scott was known as Little Jimmy Scott during the '50s and '60s, as an R&B (Rhythm and Blues) singer, and made many recordings, but what he had really wanted to be called a jazz balladeer.

Savoy was a recording company known to sign on and bind naive and un-knowing artists with unreasonable contracts, and thrive on them.

Ray Charles produced Jimmy's recording, which drew a big attention when DJs played it all over the US, but Savoy interfered citing his contract. This kind of thing happened twice, and after this incident, Jimmy Scott's renown became lost to the world.

In the '90s, though, Jimmy's jazz standards, sung with a bluesy note straight from the bottom of his heart, was revived by Seymour Stein who headed Sire Records, affiliated with Warner Brothers. This came to be when Jimmy sang "Someone To Watch Over Me" at the funeral of Doc Pomus who had been working behind the scenes for Jimmy Scott's comeback but had died before accomplishing it.

In 1991, for the first time, and already in his late 60s, Jimmy was able to sing (chant) the songs he had wanted to, in the way he had wanted to, so it is now that he is going through his youth.

The story of Jimmy's misfortunes and his extraordinary life was broadcast by NHK just before he came to Japan in 1999.