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Welcome To The Soul-Patrol Newsletter
(RIP) I can't really tell you how much Jimmy Castor Means To Me
 I was hoping that Jimmy Castor would have emailed me back and told me something like; "Bob, the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated..."
But of course that hasn't happened. In fact what has happened is that I have gotten several phone calls & emails confirming his passing.
Of course I became aware of Jimmy Castor first because of the song "Hey Leroy," on WWRL (1600 AM) back when I was a little kid in the 1960's. I had no clue at that point in time, that he would later grow to become so important to me as a person.
Of course I have written a whole lot on the internet about the music and influence of Jimmy Castor. But that is only a part of the story....
I first met Jimmy Castor in 2004 at a party in Las Vegas. Our friend John Wilson (Sly, Slick & Wicked) was about to introduce me to Jimmy Castor and Jimmy interrupted John and said; "you don't have to introduce me to Bob Davis, I already know Bob Davis, because I read the Soul-Patrol. He is my biggest fan, he is from New York, knows what THE REAL DEAL IS, and he is the ONLY writer out there who is willing to tell THE TRUTH about my career from DOO WOP to HIP HOP. I already know Bob Davis, he is my brotha...."
Then Jimmy introduced me to his wife, who was standing right next to him, and she said; "Bob next time you come out to Vegas, you don't have to stay in a hotel, just let us know when your coming, you can stay out at the house..."
Of course I never made it back out to Las Vegas to take up on her offer...
But Jimmy certainly made it to Philadelphia in 2007 for the Soul-Patrol Convention and many of you got a chance to meet him there.
Since 2005 I have probably spent over 100 hours on the phone talking with Jimmy Castor, sometimes about music, but mostly about life.
I last spoke with him about 2 weeks before the 2011 Soul-Patrol Convention. He wanted to apologize to me for being unable to travel to Philly for the Convention, but wanted to show his support by buying 4 tickets. That's when he told me how sick he was. He told me about his battle with cancer and what it had done to his body. However he also told me that he was unwilling to let the disease take away his spirit. I also told him about the similar battle my mother was then waging. Jimmy said to me; "I don't even have to worry about it, I am certain that you and Mike are making absolutely certain that your mom is enjoying a good quality of life..."
A few moments after I hung up the phone, I went to check my email and there was a message from PayPal stating that Jimmy Castor had just purchased 4 tickets to the 2011 Soul-Patrol Convention...
Right now I am listening to an internet radio special I did a few years ago as a tribute to Jimmy Castor: http://www.soul-patrol.com/funk/jimmycastor.htm
I think that I need to move some of this material to the main page of the site...
Anyhow, please scroll down to read Jimmy's official biography and also take a listen to our internet radio tribute to him http://www.soul-patrol.net/castor.ram (Real Audio)
RIP
JIMMY CASTOR
THE EVERYTHING MAN
--Bob Davis
609-351-0154
earth...@prodigy.net
Co-Founder www.soul-patrol.com
Blues, Hip Hop and Soul Music Director www.radioio.com
- LISTEN TO SOUL-PATROL'S TRIBUTE TO THE "EVERYTHING MAN" JIMMY CASTOR: I Promise To Remember, I Got Something For Ya, It's Just Begun, Potential, Super Sound, Space Age, Maximum Stimulation, Whiter Shade of Pale, Purple Haze/Foxy Lady, Hey Leroy, Bertha Butt, Troglodyte, King Kong
Official Jimmy Castor Biography (from www.jimmycastor.com)
 Jimmy Castor…songwriter, singer, saxophonist, percussionist. Producer, arranger, humorist …alias The E-Man, has earned his well deserved reputation as "THE EVERYTHING MAN."
Before even finishing junior high school, Jimmy Castor had written his first million seller for Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers called, "I Promise To Remember." While furthering his education at New York City's prestigious High School of Music & Art and later attending City College, Jimmy pursued his musical career by assembling a band of his own playing an assortment of major New York nightspots. He then wrote his second million seller, "Hey Leroy Your Mama's Calling You," on Mercury Records, through which a new flashy and spirited performer was introduced to the public - JIMMY CASTOR. Still early into his career, Castor befriended such music greats as Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Tito Puente and King Curtis to name only a handful.
Moving on to RCA Records, "The Jimmy Castor Bunch" continued to show off Castor's witty, pop/r&b writing ability through his amusing characterizations of "Troglodyte" and "Luther the Anthropoid," hit singles from their first and second RCA albums, "It's Just Begun" and "Phase Two" - the title cut from the "It's Just Begun" album was featured in the movie "Flashdance." On the third RCA LP, Jimmy further established his versatility as an artist/producer by expanding the group's more serious instrumental abilities as first recognized through Castor's haunting rendition of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale".
By the time Jimmy Castor released his debut album for Atlantic Records, it was no wonder that his aptly descriptive nickname could no longer be kept a secret. "The Everything Man" LP was released, and through Jimmy's obvious talent as a master of all trades, The E-Man and The Bunch justly enjoyed a victory in obtaining Record World's "Top Instrumental Group" award for the year. And, yet another new pair of innovative singles, "Maggie" and "The Everything Man," hit the charts.
The internationally famous, smash LP, "Butt of Course," was Castor's second Atlantic release. It featured two more pop/r&b hit singles, "The Bertha Butt Boogie" and "Potential". From the same album, there was also the legendary worldwide disco hit "E-Man Boogie," which rated number 10 in Billboards' annual disco poll.
"Supersound," the next Atlantic LP yielded two more prosperous singles for The Bunch - one being the widely publicized, international favorite "King Kong" which entered the Top 100 Pop Charts in the first week of its release and reached number 1 in Japan. "E-Man Groovin'," Castor's fourth Atlantic LP, brought forth still another successful tale - this time about the universal and immortal Transylvanian figure "Dracula." Castors "Maximum Stimulation" and "The Jimmy Castor Bunch" LPs further displayed Jimmy's brilliance as a writer and performer through his enchanting saxophone melodies and smooth vocal harmonies.
In addition to his success as a recording artist, producer, writer and arranger as "The Everything Man," Jimmy's natural ability to relate to people along with his skill, confidence and ease as a performer and speaker has captivated and motivated audiences throughout the world at various speaking engagements.
Castor has appeared on such television shows as Dinah!, American Bandstand, Soul Train, Positively Black and Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. Jimmy and The Bunch have also enjoyed sold out performances at such venues as The Roxy in Los Angeles, The Felt Forum and Madison Square Garden in New York, RFK Stadium in the nation's capitol and the Omni in Atlanta.
And to add to his credit, much of Jimmy Castor's music ("It's Just Begun," "The Bertha Butt Boogie" and "King Kong," to name a few) has been sampled innumerable times in movies and by a myriad of today's most popular artists. His statement of "What we're gonna do right here is go back," is LEGENDARY
Coutesey of www.jimmycastor.com
--Bob Davis
609-351-0154
earth...@prodigy.net
Co-Founder www.soul-patrol.com
Blues, Hip Hop and Soul Music Director www.radioio.com
- LISTEN TO SOUL-PATROL'S TRIBUTE TO THE "EVERYTHING MAN" JIMMY CASTOR: I Promise To Remember, I Got Something For Ya, It's Just Begun, Potential, Super Sound, Space Age, Maximum Stimulation, Whiter Shade of Pale, Purple Haze/Foxy Lady, Hey Leroy, Bertha Butt, Troglodyte, King Kong
If you have a news item, update, review, commentary, etc that you would like to submit to the Soul-Patrol Newsletter, please send them via email for consideration to:
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Hopefully you enjoyed this edition of the Soul-Patrol Newsletter.
We will be back soon with the next edition, with email alerts for local events, Soul-Patrol website updates/chat sessions or breaking news in between, as required.
If you have any comments, questions, etc feel free to drop me an email and let me know what's on your mind.
Bob Davis
earth...@prodigy.net
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