BIOGRAPHY AND DISCOGRAPHY

 
Fairly obscure singer with a wild uncontrolled style whose brief career resulted in no hits but plenty of excitement.

Jimmy Smith was part of The Smith Brothers, a vocal group from South Carolina, and somewhere along the way Jimmy broke off from his siblings and was signed to Savoy Records by West Coast A&R Head Ralph Bass who presumably came up with the unusual moniker of Kansas City Jimmy, though no connection to Missouri was ever established.

Cutting two sessions in March of 1949 and another in the summer resulted in three singles, two issued under that name and another under his own on Savoy’s Acorn subsidiary. When they didn’t stir much action in spite of their musical potency Smith disappeared and presumably left a crater where the sessions had been held.
 
 
KANSAS CITY JIMMY DISCOGRAPHY (Records Reviewed To Date On Spontaneous Lunacy):
 

CHEATIN’ WOMEN
(Savoy 691; April, 1949)
Reckless, hair-raising, out of control… the very embodiment of the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll in spite of its rather indecipherable story and Jimmy’s one-note vocal intensity which is matched by a fire-breathing band that is startlingly good. (7)

SATURDAY NITE
(Savoy 691; April, 1949)
With a slightly more subdued pace and less for the band to do, Jimmy’s vocal weaknesses are laid bare and since the song itself is just serviceable in its content to begin with the record is largely inconsequential. (3)

MA-MA
(Savoy 709; August, 1949)
A rousing decedent song with a party atmosphere that is plenty exciting, both vocally and courtesy of the scalding tenor sax solo, but some outdated horns in the mix don’t help overcome the fact that it’s more of a live performance than a proper record. (6)

TALKING BOOGIE
(Savoy 709; August, 1949)
Despite a serviceable structure, decent arrangement, good musical accompaniment, a great theme and some very good lyrics, the vocal performance of Smith is noticeably strained and by the end both he and the song break down. (4)