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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZNELSON, Jimmy 'T-99'(b 7 April 1919, Philadelphia PA) Blues singer, songwriter, bandleader. He knew he wanted to be in show business and hit the trail to the West Coast at age 17; he discovered specifically what he wanted to do when he heard Big Joe Turner in West Oakland. During WW II in Oakland and Richmond, California, Turner, Nelson, Ivory Joe Hunter, and Lowell Fulson were the big cats of the Blues on the West Coast. Nelson made his first record in 1948, 'Baby Chile' for the Hunt brothers' Olliet label, with bassist Johnny Ingram's band; when the Hunts called him to make a demo for the Bihari brothers in 1951 Nelson recorded the two-sided 'T-99 Blues' (the title from a Texas highway) with The Peter Rabbit Trio at the Clef Club in Oakland, and it was a best seller on the Billboard R&B chart for 21 weeks. At that time Billboard was running separate jukebox and retail charts; Nelson's hit was no. 1 jukebox and no. 6 bestseller. He'd had a contract at the Long Bar Showboat in San Francisco for several years, and that prevented him from touring when the record was at its peak, but finally top booking agent Ben Waller booked Nelson into the Apollo Theatre in Harlem in January 1952, on a bill with R&B stars like Roy Milton. He also played the Howard Theater in Washington D.C., with the original Drifters in Atlanta on Auburn Avenue, and at many other top clubs around the country. He toured with Joe 'Honey Dripper' Liggins and made his way back to the Apollo, where he was on the same bill with the Johnny Hodges band and many other great acts. Although he never had another Billboard chart hit, his records on RPM, Kent, Chess and Music City were popular on jukeboxes throughout the decade. He had moved to Houston Texas in 1955 to play the Ebony Club, made some sides in the mid-'60s for Steve Poncio's All Boy and Paradise labels, and finally ran a construction company for many years. But he never stopped writing songs and made a comeback to performing and recording in 1999. There is nobody smoother in the business; at the age of 88 he is writing and entertaining audiences including tours of Europe, where he recently sold out a four-night stand in Switzerland. Albums include Cry Hard Luck, a compilation of RPM and Kent tracks from 1951-61; Rockin' And Shoutin' The Blues '99 on Bullseye distributed by Rounder; Take Your Pick 2000-1 on Nettie Marie Records with Duke Robillard and Sax Gordon. Finally The Legend 2005 on Nettie Marie with a crew from Roomful of Blues (Robillard on guitar, Gordon on tenor sax, Doug James on baritone, Carl Querfurth on trombone and producing) is a delight, with the raunchy 'My Country Woman', the wearily acerbic 'I'm Sick And Tired Of You', a warning 'The Devil's Sending Up A Blessing To You' only slightly tongue in cheek, and much else. |