Photo: Professor Bop / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Jimmy Scott is the kind of artist I find genuinely moving. That high, natural contralto voice was so unusual that it left people unsure what they were hearing, and his phrasing on ballads could stop a room cold. What stays with me is the shape of his career: real success in the 1940s and 50s, then a long slide into obscurity through the 60s, before a comeback in the 1990s that finally brought the NEA Jazz Masters recognition in 2007. Vindication that late in life is bittersweet. He died in 2014 at 88, and I think his patience and refusal to disappear are as remarkable as the voice itself.
Overview
James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), also known as Little Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After success in the 1940s and 1950s, Scott's career faltered in the early 1960s. He slid into obscurity before a comeback in the 1990s.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jimmy Scott
- Name (Japanese)
- ジミー・スコット
- Reading
- じみー・すこっと
- Born
- July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Ox
- Origin
- Cleveland, Ohio, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- singer / jazz musician / musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2007 NEA Jazz Masters
- NEA Jazz Masters
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Singer — see all → · Jazz musician — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.