Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Jimmy Soul!

Jimmy Soul - I Can't Hold Out Any Longer

Jimmy Soul (real name James McCleese) will go down in music history as the singer of "If You Wanna Be Happy," a #1 pop hit in 1963. The song (based on the calypso tune "Ugly Woman") was his only major hit and almost as quickly as his fame came, it went, and Soul dropped out of the music biz by 1965 and did not return (he died in the 1980s). Jimmy had a smaller hit in 1962 with "Twistin' Matilda" on the SPQR label, and its flip is today's selection. "I Can't Hold Out Any Longer" reveals that the "Jimmy Soul" stage name had some merit, as Jimmy takes this R&B-turning-the-corner-into-soul ballad and works it out, bringing gospel intensity and a touch of Jackie Wilson to the proceedings.

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