I first heard Jimmy Scott at a Paris flea market when in my teens. There he was, bellowing ‘Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool’, a hit he had in the ’40s with the Lionel Hampton Band, from out of a second-hand record stall on a sunny Saturday afternoon. His voice was like nothing I’d ever heard, and although I was very young at the time, and my English not good enough to understand the song, I knew I was in the presence of rare beauty.
It wasn’t until many years later that I came across The Source, an LP he’d recorded in 1969 for the Atlantic label. With material like the spiritual ‘Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child’, which Jimmy still performs to this day, beautiful takes of ‘Exodus’, ‘Unchained Melody’ and ‘On Broadway’, as well as ‘I Wish I Knew’, one of his signature tunes, it seemed impossible for me to stop playing it. For months I carried the CD in my handbag so that I could listen to it wherever I was, and proudly showed visitors the original vinyl which I’d managed to find at a record fair. The cover is a photograph of a female model, a common practice for jazz albums of the ‘50s and ‘60s, which is a shame.
Jimmy has Kallman’s Syndrome – a hereditary hormonal deficiency that prevented his voice from maturing beyond boyhood, and his singing voice is like no one else’s: pure, exquisite heartbreak. His unique, behind-the-beat phrasing, and the way he emphasises the most important words makes you feel as if he’s talking to you. I really don’t think anyone can articulate human emotions the way he does.
Not long after I’d discovered The Source, I had the joy of meeting Jimmy himself. Since then I have attended many of his shows, and I often see grown men weep at his performances. He should be one of the most famous singers in the world, if the world was fair.
Florence Joelle’s ‘Kiss Of Fire’ single is out now.
