RIP Jimmy Castor: The Everything Man

Jimmy Castor, the titular entity behind the Jimmy Castor Bunch passed away age 64 yesterday, also known as Martin Luther King Day in America.

Describing himself as The Everything Man Jimmy was a songwriter, singer, saxophonist, percussionist, as well as a music producer and arranger.

While Jimmy may not have the godfather status as James Brown has for b-boys and b-girls, it was his influence on Hip Hop that many will remember him for. DJs loved to sample from Troglodyte (Cave Man): “What we’re going to do here is go back. Way back. Back into time…” from NWA to… Christina Aguilera.

But the song many will remember Jimmy Castor is It’s Just Begun, a funky saxophone and percussion track with the same anthemic status as Babe Ruth’s The Mexican, The Incredible Bongo Band’s Apache or James Brown’s Turn It Loose.

The saxophone lick that leads into the energetic bass line and one of funk’s most recognised double high hat loops interspersed with horn breaks has long been a get off for b-boys with a saxophone solo made especially for intricate toprock solos.

While it’s early days yet, already a few tributes have appeared online, with indie film maker and dancer Mooncricket uploading his own video to YouTube

Says Mooncricket about his video dedication: “You will be missed Jimmy Castor. God bless you in heaven. Keep it funky up there. Thank you for giving us the funky music and blessing Hip-Hop. You were a blessing to all of us. RIP Jimmy.”

“I thought since everyone seemed to have done tribute dances for Michael Jackson after he passed I wanted to make sure that Jimmy Castor gets the same kind of tribute.”

Poignantly put.

Who knows, maybe people will start to rock RIP Jimmy Castor slogan t-shirts at jams? We've already put our requests in for the Breakin' Convention after party.