{"id":5479,"date":"2010-08-04T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-04T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/interview-with-a-legend-jimmy-castor-set-for-funk-fest\/"},"modified":"2010-08-04T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-08-04T16:00:00","slug":"interview-with-a-legend-jimmy-castor-set-for-funk-fest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/interview-with-a-legend-jimmy-castor-set-for-funk-fest","title":{"rendered":"Interview With A Legend: Jimmy Castor, Set For Funk Fest"},"content":{"rendered":"

1:30pm |<\/strong> When I read Jimmy Castor was skedded to perform at the second Funk Fest this weekend, I called everyone I knew so I could score an interview with this influential musician, whose varied styles I always appreciated.<\/p>\n

As vocalist, songwriter, musician and bandleader, Castor has proven to be one of the most adaptable hit musicians of the latter part of the twentieth century, moving from the \u201ckiddie\u201d sounds of doo wop to a sound he dubs \u201cpop funk.<\/p>\n

Recording for a variety of labels, both major and minor, he managed to come up with a half dozen pop hits and 17 soul and R&B hits between 1966 and 1988.<\/p>\n

But his career began in about 1956 when a neighborhood teen group named Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers hit big with \u201cWhy Do Fools Fall In Love,\u201d a song that changed the worldwide sound of pop music.<\/p>\n

Castor, who grew up in the Harlem and Sugar Hill sections of New York City was a student a the High School of Music & Art, where he learned everything from Solf\u00e8ge, a system of learning musical scales to the classics, like Bach and Beethoven, who according to Castor created a groove.  \u201cI took that test, not many people of color were in that school.  People of other persuasions supported me,\u201d like classmate James Burroughs of \u201cTaxi\u201d and \u201cWill & Grace\u201d fame.<\/p>\n

Everything changed when Lymon hit the charts with his infectious harmony.  \u201cFrankie was my neighbor. We were in the store when he said he had cut a record.\u201d  As they were the first purely teenaged group with a national rock and roll hit, \u201cthe Teenagers reached the masses.\u201d  <\/p>\n

As a result, Castor formed a group called the Juniors and wrote \u201cI Promise To Remember,\u201d which he recorded with his group.  It was soon was a cover hit for the Teenagers, who were booked for various concerts worldwide.  Problem was Lymon disappeared on occasion, so Castor was used as a fill-in lead singer.  \u201cI had the look and I had the high voice, Frankie was 13 going on 30.  He could sing anything, one or two takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Frankie wasn\u2019t there, \u201cpeople from the Teenagers came to get me in a helicopter.\u201d  In one memorable weekend, they appeared in Hershey PA, Toronto and Montreal, which Castor described as \u201can airplane gig,\u201d flying in and out in a chopper.<\/p>\n

Though Lymon was the chief attraction, his absence was apparently never noted and the promoters didn\u2019t spoil the illusion.  \u201cThey were big stars.  One time, I threw a comb out of a bus and the girls fought to get teeth of that comb\u201d as souvenirs.<\/p>\n

Castor also sang with Lymon\u2019s brother, Louis Lymon as a member of the Teen Chords, a group that also had several hits and he also cut a second doo wop for a small Harlem label (\u201cHarlem was my life.\u201d).  So what was the next career move of this budding teenaged super-star?<\/p>\n

He went back to school, that\u2019s what.  \u201cMy mother and my grandmother always told me, \u2018you have to do\u2019 this or that.  Mother made go to school, so I worked only weekends.\u201d  <\/p>\n

For the remainder of the 1950s, though Castor played alto sax on certain sessions (like the hits \u201cRinky Dink\u201d by Dave Baby Cortez or \u201cWhere or When\u201d by Dion & the Belmonts), he basically returned to being a student and didn\u2018t record under his own name again until the Twist Era of the 1960s.  During that time, he watched Frankie Lymon\u2019s stellar career peak and his one-time friend and example, slowly succumb to drugs and die in 1968. \u201cHe began to smoke weed, getting high.  I knew my mother would beat my ass if I tried that.\u201d  <\/p>\n

Castor\u2019s next major chapter began with his first top 40 hit, \u201cHey Leroy, Your Mama’s Calling You,\u201d which charted well on the both pop and R&B charts for the Smash label in late 1966.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeroy was made up, needed something that rainy Saturday morning,\u201d Castor recalled, asserting those who can\u2019t relate to Leroy can relate to their mama calling. \u201cSmash wanted me to be Jr. Walker, so I recorded \u2018The Magic Saxophone.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Castor next recorded some sides for the Jet Set label, owned by Jackie Kennedy\u2019s cousin, Dimitri Villard and Bennett Cerf\u2019s song, Chris Cerf, who owns a big publishing company.\u201d    After stints on Decca and Capitol, Castor began appreciating a new funk pioneered by Sly & the Family Stone.  <\/p>\n

The Jimmy Castor Bunch was because \u201cI had really fallen for Sly, the horns and the arrangements\u201d \u2013 the Bunch taken from Sly\u2019s Family monicker.<\/p>\n

In 1970, Castor was signed with RCA by Aaron Russo, currently Bette Midler\u2019s
manager.  \u201c We were wearing suede boots.  We were the Jimmy Castor Bunch, I had everybody singing.  They put me in the black department and used my voice.  We needed another song I had been playing live all the time, \u2018My Brightest Day\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castor then remade \u201cI Promise To Remember,\u201d but needed a b-side.  Someone suggested he just play that caveman record.\u201d  Castor recalled, \u201cI studied anthropology,\u201d and from that created the lyric, \u201cwhat we\u2019re gonna do right here is go back.  I did that one take.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cTroglodyte\u201d came out and \u201cI went back to Canada, and we put this LP out.\u201d  Two Washington DC radio stations began fighting over \u2018Troglodyte.\u2019  We came back from the ice in a U-Haul.  That was a million seller.\u201d  It reached #6 pop and #4 R&B in mid 1972.  In early 1975, Castor scored again with \u201cThe Bertha Butt Boogie\u201d and \u201cKing Kong,\u201d which was inspired by a walk around the Empire State Building, later that same year.  \u201cI\u2019ve always considered my act a pop funk act.  I need the pop charts.\u201d
   
In all, Castor has had at least 50 single releases, including \u201cGodzilla\u201d in 1985 and at least 15 albums.<\/p>\n

In all, Castor also noted, \u201cI\u2019ve been sampled 3,000 times,\u201d citing acts like the Spice Girls, Kanye West, Fat Joe, Christine Aguilera and Beastie Boys as lifting some of his riffs.  <\/p>\n

This Saturday, Castor and the Bunch will be performing at the Second Annual Long Beach Funk Fest at the intersection of Broadway and Pine.  The Fest starts at noon and the music wraps up at 9 p.m.  <\/p>\n

This will be an historic performance, and after the set, he\u2019ll be available to sign CDs and such.  I plan to bring my 45rpm copy of \u201cHey Leroy, Your Mama’s Calling You,\u201d but I\u2019m not sure I want to take my pristine and very rare original 45 of the classic, \u201cI Promise To Remember\u201d on a trip to any funk festival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I read Jimmy Castor was skedded to perform at the second Funk Fest this weekend, I called everyone I knew so I could score an interview with this influential musician, whose varied styles I always appreciated. As vocalist, songwriter, musician and bandleader, Castor has proven to be one of the most adaptable hit musicians of the latter part of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hi-lo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5479\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5479"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=5479"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}