Scott Yanow Book Interview

Book Interview by Scott Yanow

Yanow: How did you originally get introduced to Jazz?

Jimmy: Old records my mother had, as well as songs from the radio by Paul Robeson, Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, Pearl Bailey, Bessie Smith, Herb Jefferies and Bing Crosby.

Yanow: What were some of your earliest experiences singing?

Jimmy: Singing spirituals in church. School programs such as the play “Ferdinand The Bull”, that I sang the title song in and where I first became locally known as a singer.

Yanow: Have you played any instruments and when?

Jimmy: Yes, while in high school, the snare drum in the schools marching band.

Yanow: Who have been some of your main inspirations?

Jimmy: I was strongly influenced by Paul Robeson, later I felt highly related to Judy Garland.

Yanow: Who do you consider some of the giants of jazz singing, and the ones you enjoy listening to the most?

Jimmy: Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Chet Baker, Perry Como and of course Paul Robeson were some of Jazz' Greatest Vocalists. I also thought Little Miss Cornshucks (Mildred Cummings) was one of the best performer/singers ever, as well as Big Maybelle's ballads.

As for listening when we are alone, my wife Jeanie and I often listen to Dinah Washington, Etta Jones, Johnny Hartman, Chet Baker, Freddie Cole and at times the ballads of Big Maybelle, Aretha Franklin, Little Anthony and The Imperials and Etta James. My wife also loves Jackie Wilson and other R&B balladeers, but most of all she enjoys listening to myself and Dinah Washington 's records for romance. There are so many, but the main ones are listed above. Other times we go way back down memory lane and listen to people like Lil Green, Mildred Bailey, Savannah Churchill and others from the 1930's through early 1950's.

Yanow: Did you attend college or music schools?

Jimmy: No college or music school.

Yanow: When did you know that you were going to try to be a professional singer?

Jimmy: I knew I was going to be a professional singer after I traveled the road with Caldonia”s Revue (Estelle Young).

Yanow: What have been some of your most important musical associations?

Jimmy: Important musical associations through the years were Lionel Hampton, Paul Gayton, Billie Holiday, Charles “Bird” Parker, Doc Pomus, Dinah Washington, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones and Producer Tommy LiPuma.

Yanow: Please name a few highpoints and turning points of your musical career.

Jimmy: Cutting my first record “Everybody's Somebody's Fool” in 1949. Singing “Why Was I Born” at two Presidential Inaugurations, Eisenhower's in 1953 and Clinton 's 40 years later in 1993. Singing at the Library of Congress. Singing on movie soundtracks and appearing in a couple of films. Being inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Hall Of Fame. Playing venues like Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Touring Europe , Japan and South America , it's a great joy to be loved and appreciated by so many people of all ages around the world. Japan has made me the #1 Jazz Vocalist three years straight. Receiving many honors and awards all over the world, most recently at one of my shows in California , where I received honors from Governor Schwartzenegger, Mayor of Los Angeles, James Hahn, Congresswoman Maxine Water, Assemblyman Merv Dymally and a few others.

Yanow: What do you consider your best and most representative recordings thus far?

Jimmy: Best recordings: My first on Decca “Everybody's Somebody's Fool”, my recording with Ray Charles' label (that was blocked for forty years by Savoy record label owner) “Falling In Love Is Wonderful”. My Atlantic recordings: “The Source” and “Lost and Found”, for my mature years the ultimate could only be the Tommy LiPuma production of my “All The Way” CD, which also opened up my work to new Audiences. As a footnote: I have to say the album I did of songs written by Rock Artists “Holding Back The Years” opened up a much younger audience to my music. I get many requests during my show now for songs from that CD.

Yanow: What are your future music goals?

Jimmy: I would like to do an album of songs I've wanted to record for a long time and have some input into the project, to finally produce something my way. Some would be old songs/standards, such as “How Do You Speak To An Angel” and “Love Letters” the old Ketty Lester tune, some would be my own compositions, such as a song I wrote for my wife titled “Jeanie”. I would also like to include my band “The Jazz Expressions” so listeners would get the same intimate feel they get when coming to my live shows.

Yanow: What it is about jazz that makes you particularly enjoy performing it?

Jimmy: Its connection with reality. The lyrics tell a meaningful story that audiences can relate to. I can only perform a song that I feel a connection with, one that may relate to my own life.

Yanow: Please add any comments or information that you consider relevant to your life history or to understanding your music.

Jimmy: One my mother, lining us kids up to sing to the accompaniment of her piano, later my teachers Mrs. McGrath, who asked me to sing in my first school play at Outwaithe junior high around age 13. Then I would go to the local Five and Dime store to buy music lyric books every Friday where there was a woman with a piano in the store who would show me the melody on the piano. Having the opportunity to do my first recordings with Lionel Hampton's Big Band. On the other hand, not given the opportunity to get the type of recognition I feel I've earned, the type of venues and income of some of my peers, many who claim me as their influence. Without the proper promotion from record labels, the media, to be able to earn what my peers earn, I couldn't exploit the abilities I have both as a singer and an actor. It hurts deeply, but I still hold out “faith in time” that those opportunities will finally come to me after 62 years in the music business and having influenced generations of singers. I'm still waiting for that opportunity to exploit the abilities and talent that I have. I have a saying “You may give out a little but don't give up”.

Lastly I'd like to say that one of my highest highlights in my personal life is meeting and marrying my wife Jean McCarthy Scott, for Jeanie has been a blessing to me in many, many ways baby, I couldn't get along without her patience, caring and love, as a helpmate I couldn't find a better woman. Folks around me haven't made it easy for her these past 5 years, she's been mistreated and very misunderstood. To me she's been a Godsend. This is the first honest loving woman in my life since my mother. I love Jeanie deeply, more than words can say, if it weren't for her I wouldn't be here today, and that's a fact.

With Sincere Respect,

Jimmy Scott