R&B/Pop singer. He became a preacher (his congregation called him Jimmy Soul) at age seven and performed gospel as a teenager, becoming known locally as "the Wonder Boy." When Frank Guida, engineer of the legendary Norfolk sound, noticed Soul's talent, he recruited him to record some of the calypso-based songs that Guida had hand-picked for one of his other hit artists, Gary U.S. Bonds. Soul's only two charting hits were both Bonds' castoffs, 1962's #20 R&B and #22 Pop hit "Twistin' Matilda" and 1963's #1 Pop and R&B hit "If You Wanna Be Happy." The success of that song, with its upbeat, vibrant Caribbean sound, prompted Soul to try to re-create it with some fairly derivative West Indian songs such as "Treat 'Em Tough" and "A Woman Is Smarter in Every Kinda Way," but he failed to chart again and later joined the U. S. Army, giving up his music career.
Cause of death: Heart attack.∼R&B Musician.
Cause of death: Heart attack.∼R&B Musician.
R&B/Pop singer. He became a preacher (his congregation called him Jimmy Soul) at age seven and performed gospel as a teenager, becoming known locally as "the Wonder Boy." When Frank Guida, engineer of the legendary Norfolk sound, noticed Soul's talent, he recruited him to record some of the calypso-based songs that Guida had hand-picked for one of his other hit artists, Gary U.S. Bonds. Soul's only two charting hits were both Bonds' castoffs, 1962's #20 R&B and #22 Pop hit "Twistin' Matilda" and 1963's #1 Pop and R&B hit "If You Wanna Be Happy." The success of that song, with its upbeat, vibrant Caribbean sound, prompted Soul to try to re-create it with some fairly derivative West Indian songs such as "Treat 'Em Tough" and "A Woman Is Smarter in Every Kinda Way," but he failed to chart again and later joined the U. S. Army, giving up his music career.
Cause of death: Heart attack.∼R&B Musician.
Cause of death: Heart attack.∼R&B Musician.
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