American singer-songwriter
Musical artist
James Nelson[2] (April 7, 1919 – July 29, 2007),[3] known as Jimmy "T99" Nelson, was an American jump blues and rhythm and blues shouter and songwriter.[1] With a recording career that spanned over 50 years, Jimmy "T99" Nelson became a distinguished elder statesman of American music. His best known recordings are "T-99 Blues" and "Meet Me With Your Black Dress On". Nelson notably worked with Duke Robillard and Otis Grand.[3]
Career
Nelson got his start singing in church. In 1941, he saw a performance by Big Joe Turner while he was visiting Oakland, California,[4] and realized he wanted to sing the blues.[5] Turner taught Nelson about singing, performance and the music business. Nelson, in turn, absorbed the shouting style of his mentor.[4]
From 1951 through 1961, Jimmy Nelson and the Peter Rabbit Trio released eight singles with the Bihari Brothers' Modern/RPM label.[4] The biggest of these was "T-99 Blues" (which referred to the old Texas Highway #99), which debuted in June 1951.[4] It stayed on the US Billboard R&B chart for twenty-one weeks and reached number 1. In 1952, Nelson had another RPM hit with "Meet Me With Your Black Dress On".[4]
Nelson began touring, performing with bands led by Joe Liggins and Roy Milton, and playing venues including the Apollo and Howard theaters. He cut singles for a number of labels including Kent, Music City, Paradise and All Boy, and Chess (including for them the 1955 "Free and Easy Mind").[4]
From 1955 to 1975, Nelson took a job working construction, though he continued to write songs and sit in with bands.[4]
In the 1980s, Nelson came to the wider attention of blues fans when Ace issued ten of his sides on an album. Sweet Sugar Daddy a compilation album from the Japanese P-Vine Records, which mainly consisted of unreleased studio recordings from the 1960s and 1970s, was also released in 1988.[6]
Nelson resumed touring and in 1999, released a comeback album Rockin' and Shoutin' the Blues from the Bullseye Blues & Jazz label.[6] This album was nominated in two categories of the W.C. Handy Awards the following year.[7] Two more newly recorded albums followed on his own Nettie Marie label prior to his death, both featuring an all-star back-up band including Duke Robillard. In 2004, Ace released Cry Hard Luck, featuring re-issues of Nelson's Kent and RPM recordings from 1951-1961.[6]
Personal life
In 1955, Nelson married Nettie (who has since died) and adopted Houston, Texas as his hometown.
Nelson died of cancer at a nursing home in Houston on July 29, 2007.[8]
