James L. Hinson Jr. (October 29, 1952 – March 4, 2022), better known as Jimbeau Hinson, was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer-songwriter. Hinson, along with co-writer Roy August, wrote the 1981 #1 Hot Country Songs hit, "Fancy Free", for

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was chang ...

' album, ''Fancy Free'' (1981). The album was also a #1 on the Top Country Album chart and peaked at #14 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In 2010, "Fancy Free" attained the BMI 2 Million Spins Award, with over 13 years of aggregate broadcast time. Hinson wrote country hits for a number of artists,

David Lee Murphy David Lee Murphy (born January 7, 1959) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known for his #1 country hits " Dust on the Bottle" and " Everything's Gonna Be Alright", as well as the hit songs " Party Crowd", " Out with ...

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

John Conlee John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, Steve Earle. Additional, artists who have recorded his songs include: Reba McEntire, Lynn Anderson, and

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Her characters usually had a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, ...

. Hinson performed as a country music from his teenage years in the late 1960s and began going by the name Jimbeau Hinson in the mid-1970s, to avoid any confusion with Muppets creator

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

. Hinson signed a writing contract with

The Wilburn Brothers The Wilburn Brothers were an American country music duo from the 1950s to the 1970s, consisting of brothers Virgil Doyle Wilburn (1930–1982) and Thurman Theodore "Teddy" Wilburn (1931–2003). Biography The brothers were born in Hardy, Ark ...

publishing company at age seventeen and later recorded several singles for

Chart Records Chart Records was a country music record label of the 1960s, best known for turning Lynn Anderson into a major country star. It was owned by Slim Williamson. The label was founded in 1964. Among the artists who recorded at one time for the la ...

. During the late 1970s, Hinson began a long-running relationship with

as a songwriter and assisted with the operations of their publishing company. In the late 1980s he was a contestant on

Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...

. Hinson released his first album as an artist, ''Strong Medicine'', on Wrinkled Records in 2013. Hinson was openly bisexual, although he was in a monogamous relationship with his wife Brenda from the 1980s. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1985. He suffered a stroke in 2021, and recovered, but suffered a second stroke in early 2022. Hinson died on March 4, 2022, at the age of 70.

References

External links

Jimbeau Hinson Web Site
* * as Jimmy Hinson {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinson, Jimbeau 1952 births 2022 deaths American country singer-songwriters American LGBT singers American male singer-songwriters Country musicians from Mississippi LGBT people from Mississippi People from Newton, Mississippi Singer-songwriters from Mississippi