Jimmy Soul

Jimmy Soul (born James Louis McCleese; August 24, 1942 – June 25, 1988) was an American vocalist. He is best remembered for his 1963 number one hit, "If You Wanna Be Happy."

Born in Weldon, North Carolina, he became a preacher at the age of seven and performed gospel music as a teenager. He acquired his performing name, "Soul", from his congregation.

Soul took to the road and toured the Southern United States as a member of various gospel groups. During this time he became popular around the Norfolk, Virginia area. It was here that Soul was scouted by Frank Guida and recruited to sing songs handpicked for one of Guida's other hit artists, Gary U.S. Bonds.

Soul had two top-40 hit singles, both of which were refused by Bonds. They were on the SPQR label, distributed by London Records. The first was "Twistin' Matilda", which peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending May 26, 1962, while peaking three weeks later at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. The other was "If You Wanna Be Happy", which was the No. 1 hit for the week ending May 18, 1963. The single was released in New Zealand on the Allied International label. The latter, which also hit No. 1 on the Hot R&B Singles chart, was based on the calypso "Ugly Woman", by Roaring Lion.

"If You Wanna Be Happy" sold over one million records, earning gold disc status. It had two spells in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 39 (1963) and No. 68 (1991).

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.