Jimmy Castor | |
|---|---|
 Castor in 1972 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | E-MAN, The Everything Man, The Jimmy Castor Bunch |
| Born | James Walter Castor (1940-06-23)June 23, 1940[n1] Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 16, 2012(2012-01-16) (aged 71) Henderson, Nevada, U.S. |
| Genres | Soul,R&B,funk |
| Instruments | Saxophone, Percussion |
James Walter Castor (June 23, 1940[n1] – January 16, 2012) was an Americanfunk,R&B andsoul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", "The Bertha Butt Boogie", and his biggesthit single, the million-seller "Troglodyte (Cave Man)."[1] Castor has been described as "one of the most sampled artists in music history" by theBBC.[2]
He was born inManhattan, New York, United States. He started a group called Jimmy and the Juniors, who in 1956 recorded the original version of "I Promise to Remember", which according to Castor[3]Mercury Records did not want to promote.George Goldner had the famousdoo-wop groupThe Teenagers record it and it became their third hit single. Later, Castor was asked to join the Teenagers.[4] In late 1966, he released "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You".
As a solo artist and leader of The Jimmy Castor Bunch (TJCB) in the 1970s, Castor released several successful albums andsingles. TJCB hit their commercial peak in 1972 upon the release of their albumIt's Just Begun, which featured twohit singles: the title track and "Troglodyte (Cave Man)", the latter of which became quite popular in the US, hitting #6 on theBillboard Hot 100. The track stayed on the chart for 14 weeks and on June 30, 1972, received agold disc award from theRIAA for sales of a million copies.[1] Castor released "It's Just Begun" in 1972. In 1973, he recorded a soprano saxophone instrumental cover of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" written byGary Brooker,Keith Reid andMatthew Fisher (fromProcol Harum), on a tune inspired by J.S.Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 BWV1068 in his "Air on the G string".Afrika Bambaataa said that "It's Just Begun" was very popular at South Bronx block parties in the 1970s. Later popular songs included "Bertha Butt Boogie", "Potential", "King Kong" and "A Groove Will Make You Move" in 1975 and 1976.
The Jimmy Castor Bunch included keyboardist/trumpeter Gerry Thomas, bassist Douglas Gibson, guitarist Harry Jensen, guitarist / sitarist Jeffrey Grimes,conga and triangle player Lenny Fridie, Jr., and drummers Elwood Henderson, Jr., and Bobby Manigault.[1] Thomas also recorded with theFatback Band, leaving TJCB in the 1980s to exclusively record with them.
Castor died of heart failure on January 16, 2012, inHenderson, Nevada, just a week short of his 72nd birthday."[4][5]
Many of the group's tunes have been heavilysampled in films and inhip-hop. In particular, the saxophone hook and groove from the title track of "It's Just Begun". For exampleIce-T sampled the track for the title track of his 1988 albumPower.[6] Also, heavy sampled is the spoken word intro and groove from "Troglodyte (Cave Man)" (namely, "What we're gonna do right here is go back, way back, back into time..." and "Gotta find a woman, gotta find a woman").Industrial hip hop groupTackhead covered the song "Just Begun" for the digital release of their albumFor the Love of Money.[7]
Castor's son, J-Cast, chose his stage name by using letters from Jimmy "J" and Castor "Cast". J-Cast released an album,J-Cast for President, on June 24, 2009, which was popular in Japan.[8][9] Jimmy had three other children: April, Jimmy Jr., and Sheli, and ten grandchildren.
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [10] | US R&B [10] | CAN [11] | |||
| 1967 | Hey Leroy | – | – | – | Smash |
| 1972 | It's Just Begun | 27 | 11 | 21 | RCA |
| Phase 2 | 192 | – | – | ||
| 1973 | Dimension 3 | – | 49 | – | |
| 1974 | The Jimmy Castor Bunch featuring the Everything Man | – | – | – | Atlantic |
| 1975 | Butt of Course... | 74 | 34 | – | |
| Supersound | – | 30 | – | ||
| 1976 | E-Man Groovin' | 132 | 29 | – | |
| 1977 | Maximum Stimulation | – | – | – | |
| 1978 | Let It Out | – | – | – | Drive/TK Records |
| 1979 | The Jimmy Castor Bunch | – | – | – | Cotillion/Atlantic |
| 1980 | C | – | – | – | Long Distance |
| 1983 | The Return of Leroy | – | – | – | Dream |
| 1995 | The Everything Man–The Best of the Jimmy Castor Bunch | – | – | – | Rhino |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
Note: All credited toThe Jimmy Castor Bunch unless otherwise stated.
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [12] | US R&B [13] | AUS [14] | CAN | |||
| 1966 | "Hey, Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You" Jimmy Castor | 31 | 16 | – | 36 | |
| 1972 | "Troglodyte (Cave Man)" | 6 | 4 | 13 | 1 | |
| "Luther the Anthropoid (Ape Man)" | 105 | – | – | – | ||
| 1973 | "A Whiter Shade of Pale" | – | – | – | – | |
| 1975 | "Soul Serenade" | – | 72 | – | – | |
| "The Bertha Butt Boogie (pt.1)" | 16 | 22 | – | 30 | ||
| "Potential" | – | 25 | – | – | ||
| "King Kong – Part 1" | 69 | 23 | – | – | ||
| 1976 | "Supersound" | – | 42 | – | – | |
| "Bom Bom" | – | 97 | – | – | ||
| "Everything Is Beautiful to Me" | – | 67 | – | – | ||
| 1977 | "Space Age" | 101 | 28 | – | – | |
| "I Love a Mellow Groove" | 108 | – | – | – | ||
| 1978 | "Maximum Stimulation" | – | 82 | – | – | |
| 1979 | "Don't Do That!" | – | 50 | – | – | |
| 1980 | "Can't Help Falling in Love with You" Jimmy Castor | – | 93 | – | – | |
| 1984 | "Amazon" Jimmy Castor | – | 84 | – | – | |
| 1985 | "It Gets to Me" Jimmy Castor | – | 81 | – | – | |
| 1988 | "Love Makes a Woman" Joyce Sims feat. Jimmy Castor | – | 29 | – | – | |
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
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| Other | |
