Unconfirmed at the minute, but I've read online that Jimmy has passed away.


Sad news.



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Funk great Jimmy Castor, the man who made the Troglodyte and Bertha Butt famous, passed away on Monday at the age of 64. At this time, there is no cause of death.

According to VVN Music affiliate Noise11, "Castor’s grandson P.J. Romain said on Twitter that his “grandfather is unresponsive at the hospital,” before breaking the news eight hours later in a tweet that said: “My grandfather Jimmy Castor died today at 2:30 on MLK day."

""Disco musician Nile Rodgers also tweeted his grief, saying: "I can’t stop crying. How do I explain how much his brilliant upbeat music touched my soul? Jimmy Castor RIP.""

Read more: http://www.vintagevi...l#ixzz1jhAvFTWh


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Castor recorded a few singles for the My Brothers label with the Clintonian Cubs in the early 1 960s before his first solo sides for Jet Set ('65), Decca ('66), and then Smash, a subsidiary of Mercury, the label he had started out on, By 1966 there was a new sound in Harlem; doo-wop was out (although it would never die, experiencing regular revivals into the 1 990s).

The new sound, inspired by the large and growing Puerto Rican population of Harlem, was dubbed Latin soul, and locals like Ray Barrette (11 Watusi") and Joe Cuba ("'Bang' 'Bang'") were the new stars uptown, By now Castor had added cimbales and vibes to his arsenal of talents and with his longtime writing and producing partner John Pruitt came up with one of the all-time great New York Latin soul discs-"Hey, Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You."
"Hey, Leroy" was and is irresistible, with its fat melodic bass line, descending piano triplets, timbales, and conga grooves, wailing sax, and call-and-response refrain"go to yo' mama, go to yo' mama." By Christmas week of '66 it had risen to #16 on Billboards national R&B charts (#31 pop), but in Harlem it was as good as #1 and would be sung by kids on the baseball fields and playgrounds of New York for a decade.

read more http://www.70disco.com/jimmycas.htm