Jimmy Hughes (singer)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jimmy Hughes (born 1938 in Florence, Alabama) is an American R&B singer from the 1960s. His biggest hits are Steal Away (1964), Neighbor, Neighbor (1966) and Why Not Tonight (1967).

Life

Hughes, a cousin of Percy Sledge , was a lead singer in the local church choir at the age of eight. He was a member of several gospel groups before he met the R&B producer Rick Hall in 1962 and was signed to his label FAME Records . By 1963 the singles I'm Qualified and Everybody Let's Dance appeared , but they went unnoticed.

The breakthrough followed in 1964 with the coming of Hughes' Spring Blues - Ballad Steal Away , the number two on the R & B and number 17 of the pop charts reached. The song established the FAME label's reputation as an R&B Mecca. With Try Me , a cover version of the song by James Brown from 1958, a smaller hit followed. After a few unsuccessful singles, Hughes had another big hit in 1966 with the up- tempo number Neighbor, Neighbor, which was atypical for him . The song peaked at number four on the R&B charts. After that, I Worship the Ground You Walk On made it into the R&B top 30.

In 1967, Why Not Tonight was released , a release from the album of the same name. This pleading soul ballad was characterized by the intense, crying singing style typical of Hughes and made it to number 5 on the R&B charts. The singer then separated from Hall and recorded an album on Volt Records . The track I Like Everything About You reached number 21 on the R&B charts in 1968, but there were no further commercial successes. Hughes occasionally resigned until the mid-1970s, but then withdrew from the music business.

Discography

Studio albums

  • 1964: Steal Away ( Vee-Jay 1102)
  • 1967: Why Not Tonight? ( ATCO 33-209)
  • 1969: Something Special ( Volt 6003; release: February 4th)

Compilations

  • 1984: Soul Neighbors ( split album with Joe Simon ; Charly R&B 1086)
  • 1993: Something Special (split album with Joe Hicks; Stax 098; release: June 23)
  • 2008: The Best of Jimmy Hughes (Fame 2k0003; release: October 14th)
  • 2009: Steal Away: The Early Fame Recordings ( Kent 324; release: September 29th)
  • 2010: Why Not Tonight ?: The Fame Recordings Volume 2 (Kent 331)
  • 2010: Something Extra Special: The Complete Volt Recordings 1968–1971 (Kent 341; release: August 3)

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1964 Steal Away
Steal Away 		US17 (12 weeks)
US 		R&B2 (19 weeks)
R&B
First published: May 1964
Author: Jimmy Hughes
Try Me
Steal Away 		US65 (4 weeks)
US 		R&B36 (4 weeks)
R&B
First published: September 1964
Author: James Brown
Original: James Brown and the Famous Flames, 1958
1966 Neighbor, Neighbor
Steal Away 		US65 (6 weeks)
US 		R&B4 (12 weeks)
R&B
First published: May 1966
Author: Huey Meaux
I Worship the Ground You Walk On
Why Not Tonight? 		- R&B25 (5 weeks)
R&B
First published: August 1966
Authors: Dan Penn, Dewey Lindon Oldham Jr.
1967 Why Not Tonight
Why Not Tonight? 		US90 (2 weeks)
US 		R&B5 (12 weeks)
R&B
First published: January 1967
Author: James Gilreath
1968 It ain't what you got - R&B43 (3 weeks)
R&B
First published: November 1967
Author: Jimmy Hughes
I Like Everything About You
Something Special 		- R&B21 (9 weeks)
R&B
First published: August 1968
Authors: Billy Davis, George Gordy, Ivy Jo Hunter

More singles

  • 1962: I'm Qualified (release: November)
  • 1963: Everybody Let's Dance (release: October)
  • 1964: I Want Justice (released November)
  • 1965: Goodbye My Lover Goodbye (release: February)
  • 1965: You Really Know How to Hurt a Guy (You Really Know How to Make Him Cry) (released June)
  • 1965: Midnight Affair (release: November)
  • 1967: Don't Lose Your Good Thing (released June)
  • 1967: Hi-Heel Sneakers (Release: August)
  • 1968: Let 'Em Down Baby (released December)
  • 1969: Chains of Love (release: June)
  • 1969: I'm So Glad (release: October)
  • 1971: Just Ain't as Strong as I Used to Be (You Done Fed Me Sumpin ') (Release: June)

literature

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Nick Talevski: Rock Obituaries. Knocking on Heaven's Door. P. 288.
  2. ↑ Chart data: Billboard Hot 100
  3. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
personal data
SURNAME Hughes, Jimmy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer
DATE OF BIRTH 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence