Jimmy Sweeney (March 15, 1922 – October 6, 1992) a WW2 veteran, and a member of the Nashville African-American music scene. He was a singer, songwriter, and self-taught guitarist. As a pop singer, he was known professionally as Jimmy Sweeney a.k.a. Jimmy Bell. Jimmy was born, raised, and died in Nashville, Tennessee. His recordings span country, rhythm and blues, soul, and doo wop. He was an early influence on Elvis Presley.

Jimmy and Elvis

Jimmy's main claim to fame is as an influence to the young Elvis and that he was the mystery singer on a demo disk played to Elvis by

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, C ...

. An enduring myth from the fifties is that the young unknown Elvis was daunted by the performance on record of an (unknown) singer. The story is that Elvis as an undiscovered 18-year-old was introduced to a demo record of "Without You" by

on 24 Jun 1954. (Elvis had already visited Sun before that to record two sessions for personal use, and

Marion Keisker Marion Keisker MacInnes (September 23, 1917 – December 29, 1989) was an American record producer. She was the first person ever to record the singing voice of cultural icon Elvis Presley. Life Keisker was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and gradu ...

had taken note of his potential). Sam had a stack of demos that had been sent into him, one was a disk of an unknown

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

"Without You", by an unknown singer with guitar. The song began: "Always at twilight I wish on a star, I ask the lord "to keep you wherever you are..." Sam had been impressed by it, but was unable to ascertain the name of the singer; nevertheless he toyed with releasing it as a single. Marion (Sam's business associate) intervened with the idea to get Elvis to sing it as a debut record. Despite a spirited attempt at recording it, Elvis felt he could not better the performance on the demo, and went on to work on " That's All Right", released in July 1954. The Sweeney demo remained privately in Marion's hands, its existence became an urban myth. The singer was not identified, till heard by Christopher Kennedy in early 2017, his suspicions were confirmed by Jimmy's daughter Eugenia, amongst others. The demo disc label identifies it as "Without You", "Audiodisc 3324", recorded at 78 rpm. The writer of the song has never been identified. Earlier to these events in January 1954, Elvis had, in the second of two (self-paid) private sessions, cut a second acetate at Sun Records of "I'll Never Stand In Your Way" and "It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You", the latter a Fred Rose,

Jimmy Wakely Jimmy Wakely (February 16, 1914 – September 23, 1982) was an American actor, songwriter, country music vocalist, and one of the last singing cowboys. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, he released records, appeared in several B-Western movies ...

song. That song and the Sweeney demo have no similarity. Later in 1960, Jimmy Sweeney made an original recording of "

She Wears My Ring "La golondrina" (English: "The Swallow") is a song written in 1862 by Mexican physician Narciso Serradell Sevilla (1843–1910), who at the time was exiled to France due to the French intervention in Mexico. The lyrics come from a poem written ...

", a F. Bryant, B. Bryant adaptation of an old Mexican song, "La Golondrina". This particular record had been Jimmy's most successful, reaching number 5 on the Canadian

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

, and, in July 1962, number 24 on the American chart. Coincidentally, Elvis was to cover it in 1973 on the ''Good Times'' album on RCA Records, issued in 1974. It was a long-time favourite of his, he had also (again coincidentally) made a home recording of it in November 1960 at 565 Perugia Way in Los Angeles, officially released on "Follow That Dream Records" label, ''In a Private Moment'' album. Roy Orbison recorded it for

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

in 1964.

Life and career

Early life

Named after his father, who was born in Nashville; he was of West Indian descent. The second child of thirteen. A gifted

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player as a boy, he was a self-taught guitarist. He was born, raised, and based in Nashville, Tennessee all of his life. In 1943 he was drafted as Private into the US Army, at

Camp Forrest Camp Forrest, located in a wooded area east of the city of Tullahoma, Tennessee, was one of the U.S. Army's largest training bases during World War II. It was an active army post between 1941 and 1946. History The camp, named after Civil War ca ...

, Tennessee, and was eventually honourably discharged. He married his wife Elsie in Jan 1941, and made ends meet as a carpenter.

Solo career

He recorded under various names; Jimmy Sweeney, Jimmy Bell and Jimmy Destry. He was the lead singer of "The Five Bars", who later changed their name to "The Varieteers". On the 8 Jul 1948 the Varieteers appeared as guests on the "Appointment With Music" (an NBC radio show originating from WSM, Nashville). The Varieteers, sang "All Dressed Up With A Broken Heart"... The host was

Snooky Lanson Roy Landman (March 27, 1914 – July 2, 1990),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 159. better known as Snooky Lanson, was an Ame ...

, with Dorohy Dillard &

Beasley Smith John Beasley Smith (September 27, 1901 – May 14, 1968)William F. Lee, ''American Big Bands'' (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2005) p50 was an American composer and big band musician. "That Lucky Old Sun" (1949) one of his better known works, was cove ...

and his orchestra. In Oct 53, the Varieteers were at

Ciro's Ciro's (later known as Ciro's Le Disc) was a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California owned by William Wilkerson. Opened in 1940, Ciro's became a popular nightspot for celebrities. The nightclub closed in 1957 and was reopened ...

in Hollywood. They performed in the intermissions between sets of

Xavier Cugat Xavier Cugat (; 1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City ...

and

Abbe Lane Abbe Lane (born Francine Lassman; December 14, 1931) is an American singer and actress. Lane was known in the 1950s and 1960s for her revealing outfits and sultry style of performing. Her first marriage was as the fourth wife of Latin bandleader ...

. He travelled throughout the U.S. and Canada promoting his recordings gathering a legion of fans. However great success was to elude him. For a time he worked in Western Canada for C.P.Rail "She Wears My Ring" charted at #5 on CHUM, Toronto, in May 1961. Then, at the height of it all in 1962, aged 40, he opted out and returned home to Nashville; for a state government job. A period of inactivity followed, before he started again to write, penning songs for Columbia.

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

in particular recorded his songs. Most of his recordings were with the Hickory label. Associated labels were: *

Bullet Records At least five record labels with the name Bullet Records have existed. Bullet Records, Nashville, 1946-1952 The earliest Bullet Records was a record label based in Nashville, United States, which was started in 1946 by Jim Bulleit and C.V. H ...

a "country and western" label owned by Jim Bulleit and located in Nashville, from 1946. Another artist on the Bullet label was

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

. * Buckley label, Louis Buckley's tiny Buckley label, Louis operated Buckley's Records (shop) in Nashville. * Chic Records of Thomasville, Georgia. Label owned by Chic (Chick) Thompson, active 1956 to 1957. * Hickory Records of 2510 Franklin Road, Nashville * Republic Records of Nashville *

Tennessee Records {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Tennessee Records was a mid-20th century United States based record label, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Tennessee mostly released country music, but the label's biggest hit was "Down Yonder", a ragti ...

of Nashville Most of Sweeney's music writing was published by

Acuff-Rose Music Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Acuff-Rose's honest behavior towards their writers set them apart from other music publishing firm ...

Jimmy and Marty Robbins

He contributed songs regularly for Marty Robbins. This is an incomplete list, the dates are the years the songs were issued by Marty: *Don't Go Away Senor – 1957 *No Tears, No Regrets – 1965 *"Will There Be Stars in My Crown?" ( George Jones, Jimmy Sweeney, Edmond Hewitt) – 1965 *My Wonderful One – 1969 *When My Turn comes around – 1969 *You Say It's Over – 1971 *You're an Angel disguised as a Girl – 1987

Death

Died in Nashville of cancer at age 69, leaving his wife Elsie and five children. He is buried in a U.S Veterans gravesite at the Nashville National Cemetery, Madison, Davidson County, Tennessee.

Legacy

An influence on Elvis Presley. He left behind many (now rare) collectible recordings which regularly surface on YouTube, under the names: Jimmy Sweeney, Jimmy Bell, Jimmy Destry, The Five Bars, and The Varieteers.

Jimmy Sweeney discography

45 RPM singles * "I'm All Dressed Up With A Broken Heart" (Val-Reese-Patrick) b/w "To Make A Long Story Shorter" (Ellis) – Bullet 1009, 1947 (recorded as the "Five Bars") * "Bars Boogie" b/w "Deep In My Heart" – Bullet 1010, 1947 (recorded as "The Five Bars") * "(It's) Needless" (Vaughan) b/w "It's Goodbye Again" – Tennessee 809, 1950 (recorded as Jim Sweeney and The Dinning Brothers) * "Boogie Woogie Jockey" (Sweeney) b/w "I Gotta Leave This Town" – Tennessee 714, May 1950 (recorded as Jimmy Sweeney; A side with

Gene Nobles Gene Nobles (August 3, 1913 – September 21, 1989) was an American radio disc jockey who attained fame on Nashville radio station WLAC from the 1940s through the 1970s by playing rhythm and blues music. Career Nobles was a former carnival barke ...

WLAC WLAC (1510 AM) – branded ''Talkradio 98.3 & 1510'' – is a commercial talk radio radio station licensed to serve Nashville, Tennessee. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station covers the Nashville metropolitan area. The WLAC studios are located ...

, Nashville) * "I'll Try To Forget I've Loved You" b/w "You Don't Move Me No More" – MGM 10888-A/B, January 1951 (recorded as The Varieteers) * "Tobacco Road" (Edward B. Marks/Arranged Anita Kerr) b/w "The Song Of The Wind" – Tennessee 715, 1952 (recorded as Jimmy Sweeney With (Choir) Accompaniment) * "Believe In Me" b/w "Desire" – Republic 7054, October 1953 (recorded as Jimmy Sweeney; Republic a subsidiary of Tennessee Records) * "Deep Blues" (Rose, McAlpin) b/w "I've Got a Womans Love" (Robbins) – Hickory 1004, February 1954 (recorded as Jimmy Sweeney and The Varieteers) * "I Pay With Every Breath" (Sweeney) b/w "If You And I Could Be Sweethearts" – Hickory 1014, August 1954 (recorded as The Varieteers, vocals by Jimmy Sweeney) * "Memories Of You" b/w "When Did You Leave Heaven?" – Republic 7101, November 1954 (recorded as The 4 Bars; Republic a subsidiary of Tennessee) * "Danny Boy" b/w "Your Gonna Be Sorry" – Hidus Records issued 2009, recorded May 1955 (recorded as Jimmy Destry) * "Call My Gal, Miss Jones" (Jimmy Sweeney) b/w "Minnie, Come Home" (Jimmy Sweeney) – Hickory 1025, May 1955 (recorded as The Varieteers) * "The Question" (Chick Thompson) b/w "These Tears" (Jimmy Sweeney) – CHIC 1002 December 1956 (recorded as Jimmy Sweeney; Chic Records of Thomasville, Georgia. CHIC active 1956–1957. Label owned by Chic (Chick) Thompson.) * "Tica Boo" (Ted Edlin) b/w "Bongo Olay" (Jimmy Sweeney) – Chic Records March 1957 (recorded as Jimmy Sweeney) * "The Midnight Hour" (Jimmy Sweeney) b/w "Till The Right One Comes Along" (Jimmy Sweeney) – DATE 1001 – January 1958 (recorded as Jim Sweeney; Date, a subsidiary of Columbia. This record released in New Zealand and the UK) * "Sick, Sick, Sick" (( B. Bryant, F. Bryant) b/w "Gonna Find My Sweetheart" (Jimmy Sweeney) – COLUMBIA 4-41201, Columbia Records, June 1958 (recorded as Jim Sweeney) * "It Wouldn't Be The Same (Without You)" ((

/ Fred Rose) b/w "Afraid" (Fred Rose) – COLUMBIA 4-41262, November 1958 (recorded as Jim Sweeney) * "(Where You Lead Me) I'll Follow You" b/w "The Buzzard And The Owl" – COLUMBIA 4-41454, 8/59 (recorded as Jim Sweeney) * "Prayin' For Someone To Love" b/w "What'cha Gonna Do About Me" (Jimmy Sweeney) – Hickory 1115, February 1960 (recorded as Jimmy Bell) * "She Wears My Ring" ( F. Bryant, B. Bryant) b/w "Going Down To The River" (Jimmy Sweeney) – Hickory 1136, November 1960 (recorded as Jimmy Bell) * "Lunch In A Bucket" (

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "I ...

) b/w "(Yes) Here I Go Again" (

Don Gibson Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as "Sweet Dreams (Don Gibson song), Sweet Dreams" and "I Can ...

) – Hickory 1146, April 1961 (recorded as Jimmy Bell) * "The Poorest Boy In Town" (Tobias, Pockriss) b/w "Honey Bee" (Jimmy Sweeney) – Hickory 1156, October 1961 (recorded as Jimmy Bell) * "Your Skies Of Blue (Will Turn Gray On You) (

Fred Neil Fred Neil (March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001) was an American folk singer-songwriter active in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material&n ...

)" b/w "Tomorrow is a Comin" ( Gene Pitney) – Hickory 1168, April 1962 (recorded as Jimmy Bell) * "She Wears My Ring" (Boudleaux and Felice Bryant) b/w "What'cha Gonna Do About Me" (Jimmy Sweeney) – Buckley 1101 NBOW 2937/2938, July 1962 (issued as Jimmy Sweeney; from Jimmy Bell, Hickory masters) * "Endless" (Chic Thompson, Gwen Boyd) b/w "Beloved" (Chic Thompson, Gwen Boyd) – Parthenon, 1967 (Recorded 1956 at Chic Records) MP3 * "At His Best" Released 12 June 2017 by E.N. Digital. ASIN: B0721Y9ZVG. Tracks: 9. Length: 21:40. (issued as Jimmy Sweeney) Record Store Day 2020 Special Release On September 26, 2020 a special limited edition retrospective of Jimmy Sweeney's music entitled "Without You" was released on Org Music. A limited run of 1300 copies was released. The track listing included the first commercially available release of "Without You" as well as other prior unreleased recordings. The release was produced by Christopher Kennedy. Andrew Rossiter was the executive producer.

References

External links

Biography – Part one of two

Music Hall of Fame Photo Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Jimmy 1922 births 1992 deaths African-American country musicians American country singer-songwriters American male pop singers American rhythm and blues singers American soul singers Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Burials in Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee African-American male songwriters 20th-century African-American male singers