Jimmy Nelson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jimmy "T-99" Nelson (born April 7, 1919) is a blues shouter and songwriter. With a recording career that spans over 50 years, Jimmy "T99" Nelson is a distinguished elder statesman of American music.
Nelson got his start singing in church. In 1941, he saw a performance by Big Joe Turner and realized he wanted to sing the blues. Big Joe taught Jimmy about singing, performance and the music business. Jimmy, in turn, absorbed the shouting style of his mentor.
From 1951 through 1961, Nelson released eight singles with the Bihari Brothers' Modern/RPM label. The biggest of these was the classic "T-99 Blues" (which refers to old Texas Highway #99), which debuted in June 1951. It stayed on the national R&B charts for twenty-one weeks and reached #1. In 1952, Nelson had another RPM hit with "Meet Me With Your Black Dress On."
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, Chess, Music City, Paradise and All Boy.
In 1955, Nelson met and married his Nettie (who is now deceased) and adopted Houston as his hometown. For the next 20 years, Nelson settled down and took a job working construction, though he continued to write songs and sit in with bands.
In the 1980s, Nelson came to the wider attention of blues fans when Ace issued ten of his sides on an album. Nelson since has resumed touring and has released two albums, including 1999's "Rockin' And Shoutin' The Blues" (Rounder Records) and "Take Your Pick" (Nettie Marie Records / 2002). In 2004, Ace recently released "Cry Hard Luck" featuring re-issues of Nelson's Kent & RPM recordings from 1951-1961.
