Farewell, Jimmy Castor...

3:41 PM GMT 17/01/2012

MOJO was sad to hear that Jimmy Castor, '50s doo-wop star, '70s funk genius, saxophone hero and key inspiration for a generation of hip-hop artists, has died in Nevada at the age of 64. The news was Tweeted by Castor's Grandson, P.J Romain.

Born in New York, he joined Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers in 1957, replacing the troubled Frankie. A multi-instrumentalist who played sax on Dave 'Baby' Cortex's 1962 hit Rinky Dink, Castor formed his own band in 1967. The Jimmy Castor Bunch signed to RCA and released their debut album, the primal rock'n'funk'n'soul-propelled It's Just Begun, in 1972. His biggest hit, Troglodyte (Cave Man), was released the same year and such fabulous funk cuts as Bertha Butt Boogie and Luther The Anthropoid followed. Over the years, Castor's music has been sampled by a host of hip-hop artists including N.W.A., The Beastie Boys, Ice Cube, Grandmaster Flash and Kanye West.

Jimmy Castor, June 23, 1947 - January 16, 2012

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 3:41 PM GMT 17/01/2012

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