James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

and jazz singer.

Early life, family and education

Witherspoon was born in

Gurdon, Arkansas Gurdon is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, Clark County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,840 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The town was founded in the late 19th century as a railroad town for the timber ...

. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mother was a piano player. Witherspoon's grandson Ahkello Witherspoon is a cornerback for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. Witherspoon served in the Merchant Marines until 1944.

Career

Witherspoon first attracted attention singing in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, with Teddy Weatherford's band, which made regular radio broadcasts over the US Armed Forces Radio Service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Having made his first records with

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and B ...

's band in 1945, he first recorded under his own name in 1947, and two years later, still with the McShann band, he had his first hit, " Ain't Nobody's Business", a song that came to be regarded as his signature tune. In 1950 he had hits with two more songs closely identified with him—"No Rollin' Blues" and "Big Fine Girl"—and another hit with "Failing by Degrees" and "New Orleans Woman", recorded with the Gene Gilbeaux Orchestra (which included Herman Washington and Don Hill) for

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Hadda Brooks, Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turn ...

. They were recorded at a live performance on May 10, 1949, at a "Just Jazz" concert in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, sponsored by Gene Norman. Another classic Witherspoon composition is "Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough". Witherspoon performed at four of the Cavalcade of Jazz concerts held in Los Angeles at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

, which were produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. His first performance was at the fourth Cavalcade of Jazz on September 12, 1948, with

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

as the featured artist, along with Frankie Lane, Little Miss Cornshucks, The Sweetheart of Rhythms, Joe Liggins's Honeydrippers, Joe Turner, The Blenders, and The Sensations. The program description stated that Witherspoon was "one of the most sought-after blues singers in the business. He has a strong, clear voice and diction that you would hear in the classics. Although he has been quite successful singing the blues, Witherspoon can sing ballads with a surprising sweetness." He played at the fifth Cavalcade of Jazz concert on July 10, 1949, along with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

, The Hamptones, Buddy Banks and his Orchestra,

Big Jay McNeely Cecil James "Big Jay" McNeely (April 29, 1927 – September 16, 2018) was an American R&B saxophonist. Biography Inspired by Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young, McNeely teamed with his older brother Robert McNeely, who played baritone saxophon ...

, and Smiley Turner. Witherspoon returned for the seventh Cavalcade of Jazz concert on July 8, 1951, and performed alongside

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

and his Revue, Percy Mayfield, Joe Liggins's Honeydrippers, and Roy Brown. His last appearance at the Cavalcade of Jazz was at its eighth edition on June 1, 1952. Also featured that day were Anna Mae Winburn and Her Sweethearts, Jerry Wallace, Toni Harper, Roy Brown and His Mighty Men,

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

and his Orchestra, and

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

. Witherspoon's style of blues—as a " blues shouter"—was no longer fashionable in the mid-1950s, but he returned to popularity with his 1959 album ''Jimmy Witherspoon at the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

'', featuring

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

, and

Mel Lewis Melvin Sokoloff (May 10, 1929 – February 2, 1990), known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations. Biography Early years Lewis was ...

. Witherspoon later recorded with

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

, Leroy Vinnegar, Richard "Groove" Holmes, and T-Bone Walker.

Tours and successes

In 1961 he toured Europe with

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

and returned to the UK on many occasions, featuring on a mid-1960s live UK recording, ''Spoon Sings and Swings'' (1966), with tenor sax player Dick Morrissey's quartet. In 1970, Witherspoon appeared on Brother Jack McDuff's London

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

recording '' To Seek a New Home'', together with British jazz musicians, including Dick Morrissey, and Terry Smith. In the 1970s, Witherspoon also recorded the album '' Guilty!'' (later released on CD as ''Black & White Blues'') with

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...

and featuring Ike White & the San Quentin Prison Band. He then toured with a band of his own featuring Robben Ford and Russ Ferrante. A recording from this period, ''Spoonful'', featured Witherspoon accompanied by Robben Ford,

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American jazz keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, whose name was shortened to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained a p ...

Cornell Dupree Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz fusion and Rhythm and blues, R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis, and Steve Gadd, appeared on ''L ...

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...

, and

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul, funk and jazz musician. He is known for his precise time-keeping and his signature use of Tuplet, triplets against a half-time backbeat: the P ...

. He continued performing and recording into the 1990s. Other performers with whom Witherspoon recorded include Jimmy Rowles, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Vernon Alley,

Teddy Edwards Theodore Marcus "Teddy" Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone ...

, Gerald Wiggins, John Clayton, Paul Humphrey,

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a s ...

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Jimmy Smith, Long John Baldry,

Junior Mance Julian Clifford Mance, Jr. (October 10, 1928 – January 17, 2021), known as Junior Mance, was an American jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early life (1928–1947) Mance was born in Evanston, Illinois. When he was five years old, Mance st ...

, Ellington bassist Jimmy Woode,

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), known professionally as Kenny Clarke and nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride ...

, Jim Mullen,

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

Dutch Swing College Band The Dutch Swing College Band (DSCB) is a traditional dixieland band founded on 5 May 1945 by bandleader and clarinettist/ saxophonist Peter Schilperoort. Highly successful in their native home of the Netherlands, the band quickly found an in ...

, and Gene Gilbeaux.

Acting

In the 1995 film ''Georgia'', Witherspoon portrayed Trucker, a traveling, gun-collecting blues singer who has a relationship with the troubled character Sadie, played by

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough in the teen film ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). She re ...

. He played Nate Williams in '' The Black Godfather'' (1974) and Percy in '' To Sleep with Anger'' (1990).

Personal life, death and legacy

Witherspoon died of

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

on September 18, 1997, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California.

Discography

Albums

* 1947-48: ''The Chronological 1947-1948'' (

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

'Blues & Rhythm series', 003 * 1948-49: ''The Chronological 1948-1949'' (Classics 'Blues & Rhythm series', 004 * 1950-51: ''The Chronological 1950-1951'' (Classics 'Blues & Rhythm series',

006 Alec Trevelyan is a fictional character who is the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye,'' portrayed by actor Sean Bean. Bean's likeness was also used as the model for Alec Trevelyan in the 1997 video game '' GoldenEye 007' ...

* 1952-53: ''Miss Miss Mistreater: The Very Best of Jimmy Witherspoon'' (

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

/Collectables, 004 ederal sessions* 1954-59: ''Spoon So Easy (The Chess Years)'' (

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

/MCA, 990 * ''Wilbur De Paris Plays & Jimmy Witherspoon Sings New Orleans Blues'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, 1957) * '' Goin' to Kansas City Blues'' with

(

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

, 1957

958 Year 958 (Roman numerals, CMLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantine Empire, Byzantines under John I Tzimiskes, Jo ...

* ''Singin' the Blues'' ( World Pacific, 1958 959 * ''At the Monterey Jazz Festival'' (HiFi Jazz/

Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...

, 1959 960 * '' Feelin' the Spirit'' (HiFi Jazz/Everest, 1959) * ''At the Renaissance'' with

(HiFi Jazz/Everest, 1959 960 * ''Jimmy Witherspoon'' (

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

, 1960) * ''Sings the Blues'' (Crown, 1960) * ''With

'' (Vogue K 1961) * ''Spoon'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

, 1961) * ''Hey, Mrs. Jones'' (Reprise, 1962) * ''Roots'' with Ben Webster (Reprise, 1962) * 1963: '' Baby, Baby, Baby'' (

Prestige Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...

) * 1963: '' Evenin' Blues'' (Prestige, 964 * 1963: '' Blues Around the Clock'' (Prestige, 964 * 1964: '' Blue Spoon'' (Prestige, 965 * 1964: '' Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues'' (Prestige, 965 * 1965: '' Spoon in London'' (Prestige, 966 * 1965: '' Blues for Easy Livers'' (Prestige, 966 * ''Blues for Spoon and Groove'' with Richard "Groove" Holmes (Surrey, 1965) * ''Jimmy Witherspoon in Person'' (Vogue K 1965) reissue of ''With Buck Clayton'' * ''Spoon Sings and Swings'' with Dick Morrissey ( Fontana K 1966) * ''A Spoonful of Blues'' (

Ember An ember, also called a hot coal, is a hot lump of smouldering solid fuel, typically glowing, composed of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material. Embers (hot coals) can exist within, remain after, or sometimes precede, a ...

, 1966) reissue of ''Jimmy Witherspoon'' * ''A Blue Point of View'' ( Verve, 1966) * ''The Blues is Now'' with

Jack McDuff Eugene McDuffy (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. He was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz ...

(Verve, 1963, 1967) * ''A Spoonful of Soul'' (Verve, 1968) * ''Live'' with

(Stateside K 1968) * ''The Blues Singer'' (ABC/ Bluesway, 1969) * ''Hunh!'' (ABC/Bluesway 1970) * ''Handbags and Gladrags'' (ABC, 1971) * '' Guilty'' with

(

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, 1971) * ''The Spoon Concerts'' (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

LP 1972) reissues of ''At the Monterey Jazz Festival'' and ''At the Renaissance'' * ''Previously Unreleased Recordings'' with Ben Webster (Verve, 1973) * ''Love is a Five Letter Word'' ( Capitol, 1975) * ''Spoonful'' (

, 1975) * ''Live Jimmy Witherspoon & Robben Ford'' (LAX/Avenue Jazz/

Rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

, 1977) * ''Live at the Watts Jazz Festival, Volume 1'' with

Willie Bobo William Correa (February 28, 1934 – September 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Willie Bobo, was an American Latin jazz percussionist and jazz drummer of Puerto Rican descent. Bobo rejected the stereotypical expectations of Latino m ...

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R ...

(LAX/Avenue Jazz/

, 1977) * ''Live in Paris'' with Buck Clayton (Jazz Vogue K 1977) * ''Sings The Blues'' ( Black & Blue, 1978) * ''Spoon's Life'' (Isabel, 1980) * ''Olympia Concert'' (

Inner City The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

, 1980) reissue of ''Jimmy Witherspoon in Person'' * ''Big Blues'' ( JSP, 1981) * ''Sings the Blues with

Panama Francis David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s. Early life Francis was born in Miami, Florida, on December 21, 1918. His father was ...

and the Savoy Sultans'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, 1983) * ''Spoonful O' Blues'' (Kent, 1984) compilation * ''Patcha, Patcha, All Night Long'' with

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

( Pablo, 1985) * '' Midnight Lady Called the Blues'' (Muse, 1986) * ''Never Knew This Kind of Hurt Before: The Bluesway Sessions'' ( Charly, 1988) compilation * ''Rockin' L.A.'' (Fantasy, 1989) * ''Live (At Condon's, New York)'' ( Who's Who in Jazz, 1990) * ''Jay's Blues (The Complete Federal Sessions)'' (Charly R&B, 1991) compilation * ''Blowin' in from Kansas City'' (Flair/

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

, 1991) compilation * ''Call My Baby'' ( Night Train International, 1991) compilation * ''Live at the Notodden Blues Festival'' with Robben Ford (Blue Rock'it, 1992) * ''The Blues, the Whole Blues and Nothing But the Blues'' (Indigo, 1993) * ''Ain't Nobody's Business (The Blues Collection)'' (Orbis, 1992) compilation * ''Live at the Mint'' with Robben Ford (On The Spot/

Private Music Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his for ...

, 1994

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan. * 2 March: Emperor ...

* ''Cold Blooded Boogie'' (Night Train International, 1995) compilation * ''Spoon's Blues'' ( Stony Plain, 1995) * ''Jimmy Witherspoon with the

Trio'' (Stony Plain, 1997) previously unreleased live recording from 1969 * ''Tougher Than Tough'' (Blue Moon, 1997) reissue of ''At the Renaissance'' * ''Jazz Me Blues: The Best of Jimmy Witherspoon'' (Prestige, 1998) compilation * ''Jimmy Witherspoon with the Duke Robillard Band'' (Stony Plain, 2000) * ''Spoon Meets Pao'' with Eugene Pao (Eastside, 2002) recorded 1990 * ''Urban Blues Singing Legend'' (JSP CD 2006) compilation * ''Live at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival'' with Robben Ford (Monterey Jazz Festival/ Concord, 2008)

Chart singles

Filmography/DVDs

* 2000: ''Jazz Casual: Jimmy Witherspoon & Ben Webster,'' from a 1962 '' Jazz Casual'' appearance (Jazz Casual/Idem) reissued in: ''Jazz Casual: Jimmy Witherspoon/Jimmy Rushing'' 003 * 2003: ''20th Century Jazz Masters: Mel Tormé/Jimmy Witherspoon/Carmen McRae/Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan'' * 2009: ''Jimmy Witherspoon: Goin' Down Blues'' with

Marshal Royal Marshal Walton Royal Jr. (December 5, 1912 – May 8, 1995) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist best known for his work with Count Basie, with whose band he played for nearly twenty years. Early life and education Marshal Royal ...

and John Collins

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Witherspoon, Jimmy 1920 births 1997 deaths American blues singers Modern Records artists Private Music artists Kent Records artists RCA Victor artists Singers from Arkansas People from Clark County, Arkansas Muse Records artists Prestige Records artists Deaths from esophageal cancer in California Urban blues musicians Jump blues musicians Jazz-blues musicians Checker Records artists Blues musicians from Arkansas American male jazz musicians JSP Records artists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers