Jimmy Ross (April 10, 1936 – March 21, 2000) – Funky Bebop (1981)
The singer known for the dancefloor classic First True Love Affair collaborated with the producers behind Kano to co-write Vin Zee's roller disco funk explosion.
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Jimmy Ross was a singer/songwriter whose club anthem “First True Love Affair” was a hit on dance charts in 1981.
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, James Albert Abraham eventually took his mother’s last name Ross. As a teenager, he joined the U.S. Navy and became a cook, and honed his singing abilities in the bars and nightclubs he visited while sailing around the world.
After his discharge, Ross moved to the UK, and then Germany where he got married. Along the way he began recording and performing using the stage name Mel Turner. He relocated to Belgium and settled down. There he met fellow singer/songwriter Bobbejaan Schoepen, who had built the amusement park Bobbejaanland as a way to escape from 15 years of constant touring. Ross worked for Schoepen for many years at Bobbejaanland and lived on the grounds.
When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in the spring of 1968, Ross and Schoepen co-wrote the powerful tribute song “They Killed the King” in his memory. It was released as a single on May 14, 1968, and also became the opening cut on Ross’ 1970 album A Portrait of Mel Turner.
“He fought for love and freedom / He fought for all mankind
He thought that Black and white could live with one another / And always have a peace of mind.”
Ross continued recording singles as Mel Turner (sometimes spelled “Mell”) throughout the seventies, but without success. In 1980, he crossed paths with two Italian songwriter/producers, guitarist Luciano Ninzatti and keyboardist Stefano Pulga, who had just broken through with their studio disco project Kano’s debut album. It reached #23 on the U.S. R&B album charts on the strength of its phenomenal single, the #8 disco hit “I’m Ready.”
With Ross contributing lyrics, Ninzatti and Pulga composed a timeless dancefloor jam for him, the stellar “First True Love Affair.” The Italian duo arranged and produced it, along with uncredited production assistance from Laurent Vanmeerhaeghe and Tiziano Mazzilli.
It was credited to his real name Jimmy Ross and released as a 12” single in 1981 on Italy’s Full Time Records. The record was only available as an import in America. Nonetheless, it went to #7 on U.S. dance charts, and peaked at #50 R&B and #90 on the Billboard Hot 100. Canadian copies were pressed as a joint venture between Toronto’s Quality Records and Warner Bros. disco subsidiary RFC, featuring a flawless remix by Paradise Garage legend Larry Levan.
Once “First True Love Affair” took off, the production team followed it up with another club anthem, “Fall In To A Trance” (1982). This time, Linda Wesley co-wrote the lyrics with Ross, and it was a #14 dance hit.
Ross also collaborated with Ninzatti and Pulga on one other notable project, a release by the artist known as Vin Zee. The three of them co-wrote the phenomenal roller disco funk jam “Funky Bebop” (1981) which was issued as a 12” single on Emergency Records in the U.S. It charted slightly higher than either hit Ross issued under his own name when it went to #44 R&B in the spring of 1981 although it only reached #17 on dance charts.
It is unclear whether the musician who served as the public face of Vin Zee was the same artist who had released the stellar underground roller disco jam “Skate Dancer” in 1980 under the name Vinzerrelli. It was the only ever release on New York City’s Panbro Records, a label which had nothing more than a P.O. Box for an address. Original copies today sell for between $250 and $500 on Discogs.
A truly epic promotional video was shot for “Funky Bebop,” and thankfully the footage survives today. It will undoubtedly inspire future time travelers to head en masse back to 1981 in search of similar moments in roller disco paradise.
Happy Birthday in Heaven to the great Jimmy Ross.
#soul #funk #disco #MelTurner #VinZee #JimmyRoss