Jimmy Powell (13 October 1942 – 13 May 2016) was a British

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singer who recorded and performed throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, and is best remembered as the lead singer of Jimmy Powell and the 5 Dimensions, a group that briefly included

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

Early life and career

Powell was born in

Selly Oak Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harborne ...

, Birmingham, and attended Turves Green School in the city. He began singing in his teens with a local

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United States ...

group, and then a

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

group, the Jumping Jacks, before forming his own band, the Detours, around 1959. In 1961, he became a professional singer when he joined

the Rockin' Berries The Rockin' Berries are a beat group from Birmingham, England, who had several hit records in the UK in the 1960s. A version of the group, emphasising comedy routines as well as music, continues to perform to the present day. History The Rockin ...

. The group toured and performed in clubs in Germany, including a residency at the

Star-Club The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the 1960s, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 3 ...

in Hamburg, before returning to London where they were auditioned by producer Jack Good. Good offered Powell a solo recording contract, and he left the group a few months later. His first record, a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Buster Brown Buster Brown is a comic-strip character created in 1902 by Richard F. Outcault. Adopted as the mascot of the Brown Shoe Company in 1904, Buster Brown, along with Mary Jane, and with his dog Tige, became well known to the United States of America ...

's US rhythm and blues hit "Sugar Babe", with guitar by

Big Jim Sullivan James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English musician whose career started in 1958. He was best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was one of t ...

and produced by

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...

, was released by

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

in 1962. It did not chart, and nor did two subsequent singles on Decca, "Tom Hark" (1962) and " Remember Then" (1963). In 1963, Powell moved from Birmingham to London and starting visiting the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

, where British musicians such as

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...

and

Cyril Davies Cyril Davies (23 January 1932 – 7 January 1964) was an English blues musician, and one of the first blues harmonica players in England. Biography Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, he was the son ...

performed. His new manager, Malcolm Nixon, auditioned groups to act as his backing band, and offered the role to the Dimensions.

Jimmy Powell and the 5 Dimensions

The Dimensions were a London-based group formed in 1962 by guitarist Gary Leport, bassist

Louis Cennamo Louis David Cennamo is an English bass guitarist, whose lengthy career has included extensive recording and touring with a number of important British rock/blues/progressive bands. Career Cennamo left school at 16 and undertook his earliest imp ...

, guitarist Peter Mariosa and drummer Brian "Chick" Kattenhorn; in 1963 they added rhythm guitarist Mike Webb and singer and harmonica player

. Leport and Stewart were old school friends, and had played together previously in a north London band, the Raiders, who (without Stewart) subsequently became instrumental group the Moontrekkers and recorded with

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

. With Jimmy Powell joining them as lead singer in 1963, the group changed their name to Jimmy Powell and The 5 Dimensions. They toured Scotland and played club dates in London and elsewhere in England in the autumn of 1963. Stewart became frustrated that he was allowed few opportunities to sing, and left in December 1963. Leport and Webb also left, and the three were replaced by Kenny White and Martin Shaw (guitars), and Pete Hogman (harmonica and supporting vocals). Jimmy Powell and the 5 Dimensions continued to perform together, becoming a regular attraction at the

Crawdaddy Club The Crawdaddy Club was a music venue in Richmond, Surrey, England, which opened in 1963. The Rolling Stones were its house band in its first year and were followed by The Yardbirds. Several other notable British blues and rhythm and blues acts a ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. They signed a recording deal with

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...

, who released "That's Alright", written by Powell, as a single in June 1964. They were also hired to provide backing for

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n singer

Millie Small Millicent Dolly May Small CD (6 October 1947 – 5 May 2020) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who is best known for her 1964 hit "My Boy Lollipop". The song reached number two in both the UK and US charts and sold over seven million ...

on her recording of "

My Boy Lollipop "My Boy Lollipop" (originally "My Girl Lollypop") is a song written in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, and usually credited to Spencer, Morris Levy, and Johnny Roberts. It was first recorded in 1956 by American s ...

". Later, popular rumours suggested that Rod Stewart played harmonica on the record, but it was in fact played by Pete Hogman. Powell also claimed to have played harmonica on

P. J. Proby P. J. Proby (born James Marcus Smith; November 6, 1938) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Proby recorded the singles " Hold Me", " Somewhere", and "Maria". In 2008, EMI released the greatest hits album '' Best of the EMI Years 1961 ...

's hit, "Hold Me". The group appeared on the TV shows ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light enter ...

'' and '' Thank Your Lucky Stars'', and live at the ''All Night Rave'' at the

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

on a bill with

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall. While never producing a hit of their own, the band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues ...

and others, before Powell and the group parted company later in the year. Cennamo, Kattenhorn and Hogman, with other musicians, remained together for several months, billed as the 5 Dimensions and working as a backing band for

Sister Rosetta Tharpe Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her Gospel music, gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spir ...

and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

, before themselves splitting up in 1965. In the meantime, Powell recorded a solo single, a reworked version of "Sugar Babe" on which he was backed by session musicians

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

(guitar),

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

(bass) and

Clem Cattini Clemente Anselmo Agustino Cattini (born 20 August 1937) is an English rock and roll drummer of the late 1950s and 60s, who was a member of The Tornados before becoming well known for his work as a session musician. He is one of the most prolifi ...

(drums). He then formed a new band, also called the Five Dimensions (the two identically-named bands apparently existed simultaneously for several months), which included guitarists Kenny White and Martin Shaw from his old band together with Tim Munns (bass – previously a member of the Rockin' Berries with Powell),

B. J. Wilson Barrie James Wilson (18 March 1947 – 8 October 1990) was an English rock drummer. He was best known as a member of Procol Harum for the majority of their original career from 1967 to 1977. Career Early career Wilson was born in Edmonton, Mi ...

(drums) (later replaced by Peter Knight), and a keyboard player. They toured the club circuit, but broke up in early 1966.

Later career

In 1966, Powell recruited an existing

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

group called the Puzzle – Steve Bolton (lead guitar), Alan Stone (bass), Paul Smith (tenor sax) and Mick Green (drums) – and so formed Jimmy Powell and the Dimensions (without the number "Five"). They soon split up, and Powell took over a Coventry band 'Willy's Cult' comprising Dave Fulford (vocals), Rod Godwin (guitar), Willy Morris (bass – later replaced by Tony Lucas), Alan Shepherd (sax, flute), Stan Byers (trumpet), and Tom "Duke" Russell (drums). (Stan Byers is the father of Roddy Radiation, guitarist with the Specials.) They performed together regularly on the British club and university circuit until 1968. They made two singles for Decca "Time Mends Broken Hearts/Unexpected Mirrors" and "I Just Can't Get Over You/Real Cool" recorded at Hollick & Taylor in Birmingham. They were managed at this time by BBC presenter St.John Howell and an appearance on the TV soap The Newcomers followed. A highlight of 1967 was a gig on 2 July at the Savile Theatre, London appearing with Cream, John Mayall, and Jeff Beck/Rod Stewart group. However, according to Bruce Eder at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, "their singles failed to register with the public despite a high-energy sound strongly reminiscent of the early Stones, solid attack on their instruments... and a good feel for the blues." Powell continued to record, at first on the short-lived

Strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

label set up by writer and producer

Miki Dallon Miki may refer to: Places *Miki, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan *Miki, Kagawa, a town in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan *Miki, Azerbaijan, a village in Astara Rayon, Azerbaijan People *Miki (given name) *Miki (surname) *Miki Núñez (born ...

and, from 1967, back at Decca where he released three singles in 1967–68. Powell formed a new version of the Dimensions in 1968, with Ray Spiteri (guitar), Bob Spiteri (bass) and Derek Bunt (drums). They performed in Germany and on the UK college circuit. Powell released four singles in 1969–70, again without success, on the Young Blood label, also established by Dallon. He also recorded two albums for the label, ''Come On Down To My House'' (1969) and ''Hold On'' (1973, released in Germany), most of the songs on which were self-penned. Later in the 1970s, Powell worked as the part-time manager of a furniture company, as well as performing in pubs with a band, the Survivors. In the 1990s he moved to live in

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is northwes ...

, Bedfordshire, and established a successful car park management business. Compilation CDs of Powell's recordings with the Dimensions and as a solo artist have included ''The R'n'B Sensation'' ( See for Miles, 1992) and ''Sugar Babe'' (Castle Music, 2003). Another compilation, ''Progressive Talking Blues'', was issued in 2007.

Death

Powell died in 2016 at his home in

Blisworth Blisworth is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire, England. The West Coast Main Line, from London Euston to Manchester and Scotland, runs alongside the village partly hidden and partly on an embankment. The Grand Union Canal ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. Nick Spoors, "‘The pub became his stage’ - tributes paid to Northamptonshire soul singer Jimmy Powell", ''Northampton Chronicle'', 19 May 2016
Retrieved 22 November 2017

Discography

Singles

Solo

*"Sugar Babe Part 1" b/w "Sugar Babe Part 2" (1962),

F11447 *"Tom Hark" b/w "Dance Her By Me" (1962), Decca F11544 *" Remember Then" b/w "Everyone But You" (1963), Decca 11570

With the Five Dimensions

*"That's Alright" b/w "I'm Looking For A Woman" (1963), Pye 7N 15663 *"Sugar Babe" b/w "I've Been Watching You" (1964) Pye 7N 15735 *"I Can Go Down" b/w "Love Me Right" (1966) Strike JH 309 *"Unexpected Mirrors" b/w "Time Mends Broken Hearts" (1967) Decca F12664 *"I Just Can't Get Over You b/w "Real Cool" (1968) Decca F1275 *"I Can Go Down" b/w "Captain Man (1969), Young Blood YB 1002 *"

House of the Rising Sun A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

" b/w "That's Love" (1969) Young Blood YB 1006 *"Sugar Man" b/w "Slow Down" (1969) Young Blood YB 1008

Albums

*''Come On Down to My House'' (1969), Young Blood *''Hold On'' (1973), Young Blood ;Compilations *''The R'n'B Sensation'' (1992), See For Miles *''Sugar Babe'' (2003), Castle Music *''Progressive Talking Blues'' (2007), MDP OMP

References

External links

Jimmy Powell
at discogs.com
Jimmy Powell And The 5 Dimensions
at discogs.com
Jimmy Powell
at YouTube.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Jimmy 1942 births 2016 deaths English pop singers English soul singers English rhythm and blues singers Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands English male singers British rhythm and blues boom musicians