Over the course of a five-decade career, Jimmy Castor did it all. The multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter got his start singing doo-wop in the 1950s, inspired by his school friend Frankie Lymon. Frankie gave Jimmy a big break when he recorded his song "I Promise to Remember." Soon, Jimmy was singing with Frankie's brother Lewis Lymon, playing his trademark saxophone as a session musician, and recording his own sides for labels including Hull, Jet Set, Decca and Smash. Along the way, he picked up fans including Sammy Davis, Jr., and formed The Jimmy Castor Bunch. Three albums by the funky Bunch have recently been released on one 2-CD set by Cherry Red's Robinsongs label: Butt of Course, Supersound, and E-Man Groovin'.
The Jimmy Castor Bunch hit it big at RCA with the Top 10 Pop hit "Troglodyte (Cave Man)" in 1972 from the album It's Just Begun. Indeed, success had just begun for the Castor Bunch, and in the ensuing years, both "Troglodyte" and the title track have become mainstays in hip-hop sampling. ("It's Just Begun" will also be heard on the new HBO drama Vinyl.) After two more albums, Castor relocated to Atlantic Records with 1974's Jimmy Castor (The Everything Man) and The Jimmy Castor Bunch. Robinsongs' three-for-one CD release presents Castor's second, third and fourth Atlantic platters featuring him on saxophone, vocals and more.
Butt Of Course (1974) blended the group's hard-funk grooves on tracks like the "Troglodyte"-echoing "Bertha Butt Boogie" with smooth soul makeovers of classics like Thom Bell and Linda Creed's "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and Elton John and Bernie Taupin's "Daniel." Keyboardist Gerry Thomas and bassist Doug Gibson wrote three tracks for the LP, including the light, embryonic disco of "Let's Party Now." (Castor had been blending originals and covers since his early days; his Atlantic debut included takes on Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," Bell and William Hart's Delfonics hit "Didn't I Blow Your Mind (This Time)," and hits from Barry White, The Carpenters, The O'Jays and Stevie Wonder!) Robinsongs has added five tracks to the Butt Of Course disc: the single edit of "Bertha Butt Boogie," single edits of "Supersound" and "King Kong Part I" from Supersound, and non-LP Christmas ballads "The Christmas Song" and "Merry Christmas,"
Supersound arrived in 1975, de-emphasizing the familiar songs and aiming even more heavily at the dancefloor with more "Troglodyte"-inspired funk jams like "King Kong" and "Bom Bom." The Bunch lived up to its promise of "A Groove Will Make You Move" on both Supersound and 1976's E-Man Groovin'. The group's novelty approach continued on "Dracula" Parts One and Two, and "Space Age" fused funk with disco, resulting in the group's final U.S. R&B Top 30 hit. E-Man also featured a return to the Thom Bell songbook, long a favorite of Castor's, with a saxophone-led instrumental revival of Bell and Creed's Spinners favorite "I Don't Want to Lose You." One bonus track, the 12-inch extended disco mix of "Space Age," has been added to the Supersound/E-Man disc.
Robinsongs' release features a booklet with new liner notes by journalist Lois Wilson, and Alan Wilson has remastered all tracks at Western Star. Jimmy Castor died in 2012, but his singular brand of soul-funk lives on. Butt of Course/Supersound/E-Man Groovin' is available now at the links below!
The Jimmy Castor Bunch, Butt of Course/Supersound/E-Man Groovin' (Robinsongs WROBIN5CDD, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
CD 1
- E-Man Boogie
- Bertha Butt Boogie
- One Precious Word
- Hallucinations
- Potential
- You Make Me Feel Brand New
- Daniel
- Let's Party Now
- Bertha Butt Boogie (7" Single Version)
- Merry Christmas
- The Christmas Song
- Supersound (7" Single Version)
- King Kong Pt. I (7" Single Version)
CD 2
- Supersound
- King Kong
- Bom Bom
- A Groove Will Make You Mov e
- Drifting
- Magic in the Music
- What's Best?
- E-Man Groovin'
- Space Age
- I Love a Mellow Groove
- Dracula Pt. I
- Everything is Beautiful to Me
- Super Love
- I Don't Want to Lose You
- Dracula Pt. II
- Space Age (12" Disco Version)
CD 1, Tracks 1-8 from Butt Of Course, Atlantic SD 18124, 1974
CD 1, Track 9 from Atlantic single 45-3232, 1974
CD 1, Tracks 10-11 from Atlantic single 45-3302, 1975
CD 1, Track 12 from Atlantic single 45-3315, 1975
CD 1, Track 13 from Atlantic single 45-3295, 1975
CD 2, Tracks 1-7 from Supersound, Atlantic SD 18150, 1975
CD 2, Tracks 8-15 from E-Man Groovin', Atlantic 18186, 1976
CD 2, Track 16 from Atlantic 12-inch single DSKO 83, 1976
"After two more albums, Castor relocated to Atlantic Records with 1974’s Jimmy Castor (The Everything Man) and The Jimmy Castor Bunch. Robinsongs’ three-for-one CD release presents Castor’s second, third and fourth Atlantic platters featuring him on saxophone, vocals and more."
So then, by my count, these would represent his third, fourth and fifth Atlantic platters...
1974’s "Jimmy Castor (The Everything Man) and The Jimmy Castor Bunch" was his Atlantic debut which is not included here...this release has his second, third and fourth Atlantic LPs. (The "two more albums" referred to above were at RCA: 1972's "Phase 2" and 1973's "Dimension 3".) The title of this set might be confusing since it uses the "Everything Man" moniker, but the information above is correct.