# Jimmy Witherspoon was also versatile enough to fit comfortably into the jazz world

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2017/09/03/jimmy-witherspoon-also-versatile-enough-fit-comfortably-jazz-world/
- Published: 2017-09-03T14:21:50+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**One of the great blues singers of the post-World War II period, Jimmy Witherspoon
was also versatile enough to fit comfortably into the jazz world. Witherspoon was
born on August 8, 1920, in Gurdon, AR. **

As a child, he sang in a church choir, and made his debut recordings with Jay McShann
for Philo and Mercury in 1945 and 1946. His own first recordings, using McShann’s
band, resulted in a number one R&B hit in 1949 with “Ain’t Nobody’s Business, Pts.
1 & 2” on Supreme Records. Live performances of “No Rollin’ Blues” and “Big Fine
Girl” provided ‘Spoon with two more hits in 1950.

The mid-’50s were a lean time, with his style of shouting blues temporarily out 
of fashion; singles were tried for Federal, Chess, Atco, Vee Jay, and others, with
little success. Jimmy Witherspoon at the Monterey Jazz Festival (HiFi Jazz) from
1959 lifted him back into the limelight. Partnerships with Ben Webster or Groove
Holmes were recorded, and he toured Europe in 1961 with Buck Clayton, performing
overseas many more times in the decades to follow; some memorable music resulted,
but Witherspoon’s best 1960s album is Evening Blues (Prestige), which features T-
Bone Walker on guitar and Clifford Scott on saxophone. As the ’70s began, Witherspoon
decided to take a short break from live performances, settled in Los Angeles, took
a job as a disc jockey, and continued making records. In 1971 Witherspoon teamed
up with former Animalsvocalist Eric Burdon for the album Guilty. Unfortunately it
sold poorly. By 1973 his short retirement from live performances was over. Witherspoon
was ready to get back on the road and assembled an amazing band featuring a young
Robben Ford on lead guitar. Those live shows had received positive reviews, rejuvenating
Witherspoon’s move toward a definite rock/soul sound. He traveled to London in 1974
to record Love Is a Five Letter Word with British blues producer Mike Vernon. Vernon
had produced critically acclaimed British blues albums by John Mayall, Fleetwood
Mac, and Ten Years After. By the early ’80s, Witherspoon was diagnosed with throat
cancer. Although he remained active and was a popular concert attraction, the effect
of the disease on his vocals was obvious. Witherspoonpassed away on September 18,
1997, at the age of 77.

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