Jimmy Scott
I'm a cereal lover. I could eat it in the morning, in the evening, and at night - I love Cheerios.
There were times, I could say, later in the career, that I wished that my voice would be deeper for materials that I might've wanted to select to do. But that's the style of my voice. There's nothing I can do about the height of my voice. And so I learned to deal with it.
I project stronger. If you notice the old records - they're much lighter - vocally much lighter in sound than the records that I'm doing today.
I've had statements made - 'Who in the heck wants to hear a 60-year-old singer?' That statement was made - it's disheartening, you know, because you say, 'Well, hey, why should a guy feel like that about it?'
I've learned that music is such a healer.
As long as I could sing my songs, I wasn't as angry about what had happened, about being shoved back for this or shoved back for the other.
I'm a singer, and I never lost sight of that.
There's times, in certain songs, that I might be in my own world, and who cares about who's out there, you know? You have a job to do, so you do that job of singing that song or telling that story because that's what you're doing.
If you're singing, you're telling a story. So to tell it and tell it right, that's it.
As a singer, I've been criticized for sounding feminine. They say I don't belong in any category, male or female, pop or jazz. But early on, I saw my suffering as my salvation.
All I needed was the courage to be me. That courage took a lifetime to develop.
Jeanie McCarthy is the love of my life. She's the only woman who really understands me, my music, and my heart. It took me a long time to find my soul mate, but thank God I found her before I moved to the other side of time.
I love show business. It's my life, honey, and I try to enjoy it.
When the gig ain't there, you still got to pay the rent. I learned that a long time ago.
In show business, generally you don't retire. If you love it, that is, you're in it forever anyway.
I decided to sing again after settling in Newark in 1982. I had a burning desire to sing and lots of encouragement from my new wife, Earlene.
I was living in New York. Sometimes, our gang of musicians would go to Louis Armstrong's home and play records. It was a lesson, like going to school at night. Ella Fitzgerald was an inspiration, too, a unique artist. When you had an opportunity to be with people like them, you cherished it.
My pug dog, Princess , is something else; she's my baby. I've had her for about 14 and a half years. They usually don't live any longer than 15, but I don't believe that. As long as you treat them right, they will live a long time.
I started out in the 1940s, singing around the clubs of Cleveland, Ohio, where I grew up. There was a woman in showbusiness, a contortion dancer called Estelle 'Caldonia' Young - she was named after the song Caledonia Caledonia.
I was born with Kallmann syndrome. I have never complained about it, as I can't do anything to change it - and I wouldn't have acquired the voice that I have.
We had a teacher in school who would organize dramatic shows. And she decided to put on a show about - I don't know whether you remember - 'Ferdinand the Bull', the comic script. However, she decided, you're going to sing Ferdinand, me, as a role.
Earlier I had been in New York, which was my first time to New York, and I got booked in the Baby Grand up in Harlem there. I was booked there for a week; they kept me there for about a month. That's where Doc Pomus and myself became very close friends and start running together around town and what not.
I've taken regular gigs, I've worked in grocery stores, worked as a dishwasher, a porter in different places, all for survival. I don't feel bad about doing it. I wished I could have done better. And still do.
Show business has always been my life. I love it. I've shared the ups and downs. So it will still be my life. It is a big piece of your life because this is all you know. It just seems like it takes you to such great heights in your life.
I grew to see my affliction as my gift. When I sang, I soared. I could soar higher than all those hurts aimed at my heart. All I needed was the courage to be me.Collection: Inspirational
There were times, I could say, later in the career, that I wished that my voice would be deeper for materials that I might've wanted to select to do. But that's the style of my voice. There's nothing I can do about the heighth of my voice. And so I learned to deal with it.Collection: Careers