From the Amoeblog:
For the past few hours word that the beloved American funk musician Jimmy Castor had died has been flying round the Interweb - albeit without final confirmation from any reliable source. Unfortunately though that sad confirmation of the passing of Jimmy Castor has just arrived through his good friend Cliff Perkins. Castor was 64 years of age and so far cause of death is not confirmed. Castor will be remembered by for songs like his oft-sampled 1972 million selling hit single “Troglodyte (Cave Man)” but more importantly his influence on hip-hop music - the song “It’s Just Begun” is among those select records that is a key part of the foundation of hip-hop itself - long being a staple of hip-hop DJs and B-boys to break to.
The saxophonist, singer, band leader began his career as a doo-wop singer in the fifties replacing Frankie Lymon in The Teenagers in 1957. By 1960 he had switched to playing saxophone. Sixties hits for the artist included his own 1966 Smash Records single “Hey Leroy, Your Mama’s Callin’ You” and Dave “Baby” Cortez’s “Rinky Dink” on which he played sax.
Castor’s real success came in the 70’s as leader of The Jimmy Castor Bunch whose 1972 album, It’s Just Begun, was popular back then and - thanks to hip-hop endlessly sampling his music - ever since. The album’s two hits - the title track and the aforementioned “Troglodyte (Cave Man)” - have been sampled a lot as have much of Castor’s other funk releases. The spoken intro of “Troglodyte” - “What we’re gonna do right here is go back…” - is one of the most sampled soundbites in hip-hop history.
• Jimmy Castor: http://www.jimmycastor.com
