Biography
In the mid- to late 1950s pianist Jimmy Beasley cut some of the period’s most convincing approximations of Fats Domino’s style for Modern Records. Unlike Domino, Beasley hailed from Kansas City rather than New Orleans, yet the sonic similarity on many of his sides was deliberate: much of the Modern output was tracked at Cosimo Studios in the Crescent City with Dave Bartholomew’s band supplying the arrangements. Beasley’s songs, however, lacked the quality of Domino’s best work, and his higher, clearer voice never approached the earthy distinctiveness of Domino’s delivery.
Beasley began his career in Kansas City as a vocalist with the Aces Quartet and the Sonny Kenner Trio before taking up the piano for his own performances. After relocating to Los Angeles he joined the King Perry Band, which yielded recordings for Hollywood Records; a brief stint with Peacock preceded his association with Modern. Although none of his Modern singles became hits, Domino himself recorded a version of Beasley’s 1956 release “Don’t Feel Sorry for Me,” a track loosely modeled on Domino’s own 1955 recording “Don’t Blame It on Me.” Domino’s rendition achieved modest R&B-chart success and outsold Beasley’s original.
By the start of the 1960s Beasley had left Modern, yet he returned to the label in the mid-1960s to record a single plus additional material that remained unissued for decades. He continued performing into the late 1990s until a stroke forced his retirement.
Beasley began his career in Kansas City as a vocalist with the Aces Quartet and the Sonny Kenner Trio before taking up the piano for his own performances. After relocating to Los Angeles he joined the King Perry Band, which yielded recordings for Hollywood Records; a brief stint with Peacock preceded his association with Modern. Although none of his Modern singles became hits, Domino himself recorded a version of Beasley’s 1956 release “Don’t Feel Sorry for Me,” a track loosely modeled on Domino’s own 1955 recording “Don’t Blame It on Me.” Domino’s rendition achieved modest R&B-chart success and outsold Beasley’s original.
By the start of the 1960s Beasley had left Modern, yet he returned to the label in the mid-1960s to record a single plus additional material that remained unissued for decades. He continued performing into the late 1990s until a stroke forced his retirement.