A rare genetic condition prevented Jimmy Scott from going through puberty, which left him small of stature, but inadvertently blessed with a distinctive voice --- a voice that often seemed to be a vessel for a sadness that enthralled audiences across the country.
MUSIC: Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
He crooned with a distinctive, slow cadence that some called "singing behind the beat". Cleveland music promoter Jim Wadsworth doesn't see it that way.
JIM WADSWORTH: What may be perceived as being behind the beat was actually on the beat --- it was purposeful. And it did have just an incredible emotional impact.
Though Scott had a decent singing career in the 1950s, he eventually became disillusioned by the business and came back to Cleveland where he found other ways to make a living --- from being a shipping clerk to an elevator operator. But, the need to perform was still there. Reflecting on his life in a 2002 interview, he said he said there were two ways of looking at adversity.
JIMMY SCOTT: It can be a destructive thing. But, actually, it forces you to make up your mind to be who you are.
A break in 1991 at the age of 65 got Jimmy Scott back in the recording studio, which launched a new career for the soulful singer, who would go on to collaborate with a wide variety of artists, ranging from filmmaker David Lynch to singer Lou Reed. And he kept performing until shortly before his death, at the age of 88.
