Artist Info: Jimmy Soul

Jimmy Soul (August 24, 1942 - June 25, 1988), born James McCleese in Weldon, North Carolina, was a vocalist.

He performed gospel as a teenager, later scouted by Frank Guida and recruited to sing songs handpicked for one of Guida's other hit artists, Gary U.S. Bonds. Soul only ever had two chart hits, both which were Bond's cast-offs, "Twistin' Matilda", in 1962, and the Billboard Hot 100 number one hit "If You Wanna Be Happy" (based on the calypso, "Ugly Woman", by Roaring Lion) in 1963. [read more...]