From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Mon Aug 26, 2002 2:11 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Jimmy Soul JIMMY SOUL Born James McCleese, 24 August 1942, Weldon, North Carolina Died 25 June 1988, Otisville, New York James McCleese became a circuit preacher while still a child and performed gospel as a teenager, becoming known locally as "the Wonder Boy." His talent was noticed by Frank Guida, engineer of the legendary Norfolk sound, and was recruited to record some of the calypso-based songs that Guida had hand-picked for one of his other hit artists, Gary U.S. Bonds, but that Bonds had turned down. Guida renamed McCleese Jimmy Soul as a jibe at Bonds, who had offered the opinion that "Twistin' Matilda" had no soul. In Jimmy's version it went to # 22 in the spring of 1962. Another Bonds cast-off was "If You Wanna Be Happy". As Guida recalls, "No one had any faith in it, and the enticement for Jimmy Soul was the R&B side, "Don't Release Me". Guida developed an original hybrid for Jimmy Soul: he combined inspiration from the West Indies and a singer versed in the classic traditions of black American music to make music aimed at the Top 40. It was an unlikely, but original combination and "If You Wanna Happy" went all the way to the top of the charts in 1963, on Guida's S.P.Q.R. label. Follow-ups tried to re-create the upbeat, vibrant Caribbean sound, but Soul failed to chart again and went into the Army. When he came out, his contract with Guida had expired and they lost contact with each other. Soul decided to move to upstate New York, giving up his career in music. He died of a heart attack at the age of 45. CD: The Best Of Jimmy Soul (Rhino R2 70527). 18 tracks.