Jimmy Clanton

Clanton performed on Dick Clark's American Bandstand and toured with popular artists like Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Platters.

• Name — Jimmy Clanton • Born — 2 September 1938 • Birthplace — Golden Meadow, Louisiana, U.S. • Genre — Rhythm and blues, swamp pop • Occupation — Singer • Years Active — 1956–present • Label — Ace, Philips, Mala, Imperial, Laurie • Website — jimmyclanton.com

Clanton formed his first band called the Rockets in 1956 while attending Baton Rouge High School. One of the few white singers to come out of the New Orleans R&B/rock & roll sound, he rode the crest of the popular teen-music wave in the 1950s and 1960s. His records charted in the U.S. Top 40 seven times (all released on Ace); his Top 10 records were: the song "Just a Dream," (Pop number four, R&B number one in August 1958, credited to 'Jimmy Clanton and His Rockets'), "Go, Jimmy, Go" (peaked at number five in early 1960) and "Venus in Blue Jeans" (peaked at number seven on October 6, 1962, written by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller). In early 1961, Clanton was drafted and spent the next two years in the U.S. Army, continuing to have chart successes with "Don't Look at Me", "Because I Do", and the aforementioned "Venus in Blue Jeans". His only hit in the UK Singles Chart was "Another Sleepless Night", a Greenfield/Neil Sedaka composition that spent one week at number 50 in July 1960. Clanton starred in a rock and roll movie produced by DJ Alan Freed called Go, Johnny, Go! and later starred in Teenage Millionaire, with music arranged and produced by Dr. John and arranger/trumpeter Charlie Miller. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Clanton was managed by Cosimo Matassa, the New Orleans recording studio owner and engineer. In May 1960, Ace Records announced in Billboard that Philadelphia had proclaimed the week of May 16 to be "Jimmy Clanton Week." In 1963, American Bandstand signed Clanton to Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars national U.S. tour which was scheduled to perform its 15th show on the night of November 22, 1963, at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas, until suddenly the Friday-evening event had to be canceled moments after U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated that afternoon while touring Dallas in an open-car caravan. Clanton became a disc jockey at WHEX in Columbia, Pennsylvania, between 1972 and 1976 and performed in an oldies revue also in the 1970s, The Masters of Rock 'n' Roll, with Troy Shondell, Ray Peterson, and Ronnie Dove. He had a religious conversion in August 1980. Clanton appeared at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1995 and performed with Frankie Ford. In 2022, Clanton published a book co-authored with Sandy Weeks titled Just A Dream From Singer to Servant of God! The Story of Jimmy Clanton. It tells his story of life as a star and also about the unexpected journey of faith that began in 1980.

Clanton married Roxanne Faye Edtmiller on December 8, 1962, and they have three children.

• 1959: Just A Dream (Ace) • 1960: Jimmy's Happy (Ace) • 1960: Jimmy's Blue (Ace) • 1960: Jimmy's Happy/Jimmy's Blue (Ace) • 1961: Teenage Millionaire (Ace) • 1961: My Best To You (Ace) • 1962: Venus In Blue Jeans (Ace) • 1964: The Best Of Jimmy Clanton (Philips) • 2007: Born Again (Snailworx) • 2014: Everybody Needs Love (no label)

• Year — Title (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated — Label — Chart positions — Album • U.S. — U.S. R&B — Canada • 1957 — "I Trusted You" b/w "That's You Baby" (Non-album track) — Ace 537 — — — — — — — My Best to You • 1958 — "Just a Dream" b/w "You Aim to Please" (Non-album track) — Ace 546 — 4 — 1 — 5 — Just a Dream • "A Letter to an Angel" / — Ace 551 — 25 — — — 46 • "A Part of Me" — Ace 551 — 38 — 28 — — • 1959 — "My Love Is Strong" b/w "Ship on a Stormy Sea" — Ace 560 — — — — • "My Own True Love" b/w "Little Boy in Love" — Ace 567 — 33 — — — 24 — My Best to You • "Go, Jimmy, Go" b/w "I Trusted You" — Ace 575 — 5 — 19 — 1 • 1960 — "Another Sleepless Night" A b/w "I'm Gonna Try" — Ace 585 — 22 — — — 22 — Jimmy's Blue • "The Slave" b/w "Rambling Girl" — Ace S1860 — — — — — — — Non-album tracks • "Come Back" / — Ace 600 — 63 — — — — — My Best to You • "Wait" — Ace 600 — 91 — — — — • 1961 — "What Am I Gonna Do" b/w "If I" — Ace 607 — 50 — — — 36 • "What Am I Living For" b/w "Wedding Bells" — Vin 1028 — — — — — — — Non-album tracks • "Down the Aisle" b/w "No Longer Blue" (Both sides: Jimmy Clanton and Mary Ann Mobley) — Ace 616 — — — — — — • "I Just Wanna Make Love" b/w "Don't Look at Me" (from Jimmy's Blue) — Ace 622 — — — — — — — Venus in Blue Jeans • "Lucky in Love with You" b/w "Not Like a Brother" — Ace 634 — — — — — — • "Twist on Little Girl" b/w "Wayward Love" — Ace 641 — — — — — — • 1962 — "Just a Moment" b/w "Because I Do" — Ace 655 — — — — — — • "Venus in Blue Jeans" b/w "Highway Bound" (from Jimmy's Blue) — Ace 8001 — 7 — — — 5 • "Darkest Street in Town" b/w "Dreams of a Fool" — Ace 8005 — 77 — — — — • 1963 — "Another Day, Another Heartache" b/w "This Endless Night" — Ace 8006 — — — — — — — Non-album tracks • "Cindy" b/w "I Care Enough (To Give the Very Best)" — Ace 8007 — — — — — — • "Red Don't Go with Blue" b/w "All the Words in the World" — Philips 40161 — 115 — — — — • 1964 — "I'll Step Aside" b/w "I Won't Cry Anymore" — Philips 40181 — — — — — — • "A Million Drums" b/w "If I'm a Fool for Loving You" — Philips 40208 — — — — — — — The Best of Jimmy Clanton • "Follow the Sun" b/w "Lock the Windows, Lock the Doors" (Non-album track) — Philips 40219 — — — — — — • 1965 — "Hurting Each Other" b/w "Don't Keep Your Friends Away" — Mala 500 — — — — — — — Non-album tracks • "Everything I Touch Turns To Tears" b/w "That Special Way" — Mala 516 — — — — — — • 1967 — "C'mon Jim" b/w "The Absence of Lisa" — Imperial 66242 — — — — — — • "I'll Be Loving You" b/w "Calico Junction" — Imperial 66274 — — — — — — • 1969 — "Curly" B b/w "I'll Never Forget Your Love" — Laurie LR-3508 — 97 — — — — • "Tell Me" b/w "I'll Never Forget Your Love" — Laurie LR-3534 — — — — — — • 1971 — "The Coolest Hot Pants" b/w "The Coolest Hot Pants" (Piccolino Pops) — Spiral GS-3406 — — — — — — — — • 1976 — "Old Rock'n Roller (Will It Happen Again)" b/w "Old Rock'n Roller (Will It Happen Again)" — Starcrest GRT-078 — — — — — — • 1978 — "You Kissed A Fool Good-bye" b/w "I Wanna Go Home" — Star Fire S-104 — — — — — — • A Also peaked at number 50 in UK Singles Chart • B Also peaked at number 88 in Canadian RPM Top Tracks