Jimmy Scott
His hard luck started at 13 when his mother, a church pianist, was killed in a car crash and continued even after he gained attention as a riveting singer with Lionel Hampton in 1948: He was never paid for the albums he cut in the '50s for Roost, and a 1962 LP he made at Ray Charles's behest (with Ray on piano) was withdrawn. Now the Cleveland native is 67 and back, thanks to help from friends such as actor Joe Pesci. Scott's singing is mournful, piercing, haunting, original—his ethereal voice can sound almost womanly at times. Filled with classic ballads, strings and first-rate jazz accompaniment, All the Way is as strange and compelling as a rainbow at twilight. (Sire/Blue Horizon)
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