Jimmy Castor
Encyclopedia
Jimmy Castor is an American
pop
and funk
musician
. He is best known as a fun disco
/funk saxophonist
, with his biggest hit single
being 1972's million seller, "Troglodyte (Cave Man)
".
singer
in New York. He wrote
and recorded
"I Promise to Remember" in 1956. Castor then replaced Frankie Lymon
in The Teenagers
in 1957 before switching to the saxophone in 1960. He had a solo
hit with "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You" on Smash Records
in 1966. Castor also played sax on Dave "Baby" Cortez's hit "Rinky Dink
." He formed the Jimmy Castor Bunch in 1972 and signed with RCA
.
As leader of The Jimmy Castor Bunch in the 1970s, and also as a solo
artist
, he has released several successful album
s and singles
. The group reached the peak of their commercial success in 1972 with the release of their album, It's Just Begun
, which featured two hit
singles: the title track and "Troglodyte (Cave Man)," which was a large hit in the U.S.
, peaking at #6 in the Billboard Hot 100
. The track stayed in the chart for 14 weeks and was a million seller by 30 June 1972, and received a gold disc
award from the R.I.A.A.
Castor continued the trend in 1975 with "The Bertha Butt Boogie" and later recorded "E-Man Boogie," "King Kong," "Bom Bom," and "Potential." The Castor band included keyboardist
/trumpet
er Gerry Thomas, bassist
Doug Gibson, guitarist
Harry Jensen, conga
player Lenny Fridle, Jr., and drummer
Bobby Manigault. Thomas, who simultaneously recorded with the Fatback Band
, left in the '80s to exclusively record with them. Castor recorded as a solo performer from 1976 until 1988. He had one of his bigger hits in many years with a 1988 revival of "Love Makes a Woman," which paired him with disco diva
Joyce Sims
. Castor had his own record label
, Long Distance, in the 1980s.
Many of the group's tunes have been heavily sampled
in film
s and in hip-hop
. In particular, the saxophone
hook and groove from "It's Just Begun" and the spoken word intro and groove from "Troglodyte" (namely, "What we're gonna do right here is go back...") have been sampled extensively.
with The Jimmy Castor Bunch:
As a solo artist:
Albums:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He is best known as a fun disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
/funk saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, with his biggest hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
being 1972's million seller, "Troglodyte (Cave Man)
Troglodyte (Cave Man)
Troglodyte , originally released as "Troglodite", is a 1972 funk song by the Jimmy Castor Bunch. It peaked at #4 on the R&B charts and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100...
".
Career
Castor started as a doo-wopDoo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
in New York. He wrote
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
"I Promise to Remember" in 1956. Castor then replaced Frankie Lymon
Frankie Lymon
Franklin Joseph "Frankie" Lymon was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of a New York City-based early rock and roll group, The Teenagers. The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid teens...
in The Teenagers
The Teenagers
The Teenagers are an American integrated doo wop group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ Alan Freed...
in 1957 before switching to the saxophone in 1960. He had a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
hit with "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You" on Smash Records
Smash Records
Smash Records is an American record label. It was founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966...
in 1966. Castor also played sax on Dave "Baby" Cortez's hit "Rinky Dink
Rinky Dink
Rinky Dink is a 1962 instrumental hit by Dave "Baby" Cortez.Rinky Dink is a mobile musical sound system that operates on power provided by two bicycles and solar panels. It tours the world as part of many musical festivals and parties and is a prime example of how green electricity can be generated...
." He formed the Jimmy Castor Bunch in 1972 and signed with RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
.
As leader of The Jimmy Castor Bunch in the 1970s, and also as a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
artist
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, he has released several successful album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s and singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. The group reached the peak of their commercial success in 1972 with the release of their album, It's Just Begun
It's Just Begun
-Track listing:# "Creation " 1:34# "It's Just Begun" 3:43# "Troglodyte " 3:36# "You Better Be Good " 2:56# "Psyche" 4:25# "L.T.D...
, which featured two hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
singles: the title track and "Troglodyte (Cave Man)," which was a large hit in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, peaking at #6 in the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The track stayed in the chart for 14 weeks and was a million seller by 30 June 1972, and received a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
award from the R.I.A.A.
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
Castor continued the trend in 1975 with "The Bertha Butt Boogie" and later recorded "E-Man Boogie," "King Kong," "Bom Bom," and "Potential." The Castor band included keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
/trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er Gerry Thomas, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Doug Gibson, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Harry Jensen, conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
player Lenny Fridle, Jr., and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Bobby Manigault. Thomas, who simultaneously recorded with the Fatback Band
Fatback Band
The Fatback Band is an American funk and disco band. Most popular in the 1970s and 1980s, The Fatback Band is most known for their Top Ten R&B hits, " Spanish Hustle", "I Like Girls", "Gotta Get My Hands on Some ", and "Backstrokin'"...
, left in the '80s to exclusively record with them. Castor recorded as a solo performer from 1976 until 1988. He had one of his bigger hits in many years with a 1988 revival of "Love Makes a Woman," which paired him with disco diva
Diva
A diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....
Joyce Sims
Joyce Sims
Joyce Sims is an American singer-songwriter. Her biggest hit single was "Come into My Life," which reached top-10 status in both the US Billboard R&B chart and the UK Singles Chart in 1987/8....
. Castor had his own record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Long Distance, in the 1980s.
Many of the group's tunes have been heavily sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s and in hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
. In particular, the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
hook and groove from "It's Just Begun" and the spoken word intro and groove from "Troglodyte" (namely, "What we're gonna do right here is go back...") have been sampled extensively.
Discography
Popular songs by Jimmy Castor include:- "Hey, Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You" (1966), #31
with The Jimmy Castor Bunch:
- "It's Just Begun" (1972)
- "Troglodyte (Cave Man)Troglodyte (Cave Man)Troglodyte , originally released as "Troglodite", is a 1972 funk song by the Jimmy Castor Bunch. It peaked at #4 on the R&B charts and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" (1972), #6 - "The Bertha Butt Boogie (part 1)" (1975), #16
- "King Kong (part 1)" (1975), #69
As a solo artist:
- "Love Makes a Woman" (1988) (with Joyce SimsJoyce SimsJoyce Sims is an American singer-songwriter. Her biggest hit single was "Come into My Life," which reached top-10 status in both the US Billboard R&B chart and the UK Singles Chart in 1987/8....
)
Albums:
- Hey Leroy (1968) (Smash)
- It's Just BegunIt's Just Begun-Track listing:# "Creation " 1:34# "It's Just Begun" 3:43# "Troglodyte " 3:36# "You Better Be Good " 2:56# "Psyche" 4:25# "L.T.D...
(1972) (RCARCA RecordsRCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
) - Phase 2 (1972) (RCA)
- Dimension 3 (1973) (RCA)
- The Jimmy Castor Bunch featuring The Everything Man (1974) (AtlanticAtlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
) - Butt Of Course... (1975) (Atlantic)
- Supersound (1975) (Atlantic)
- E-Man Groovin (1976) (Atlantic)
- Maximum Stimulation (1977) (Atlantic)
- Let It Out (1978) (Drive/T.K. Records)
- The Jimmy Castor Bunch (1979) (CotillionCotillion RecordsCotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul; its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About A Mover", reached the R&B charts. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded...
/Atlantic) - C (1980) (Long Distance)
- The Return of Leroy (1983) (Dream)
- The Everything Man-The Best of The Jimmy Castor Bunch (1995) (Rhino)