Search - Jimmy Young :: Best of

British fifties singer more famous as broadcaster

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jimmy had some success on the Polygon label (where he topped the sheet music charts with Too young and also recorded a couple of duets with Petula Clark) before moving to Decca, where he recorded the tracks included in this collection.



Jimmy had a couple of UK hits (Faith can move mountains, Eternally) before releasing Unchained melody. He faced stiff competition from Al Hibbler (whose version made number two) and others, but his version spent three weeks at number one in the UK. His next single, The man from Laramie, spent four weeks as UK number one. Jimmy had six further UK hits on Decca, all included here, of which two (Chain gang, More) made the top ten. He later had two minor hits for another label, one of which was a re-recording of Unchained melody, but those are not included here.



Jimmy is famous for his long and distinguished career on BBC radio, but many people don't seem to know just what a great singer he was before he switched to a career in broadcasting. This compilation contains Jimmy's most important recordings.



If you enjoy listening to singers such as Nat King Cole (Jimmy's biggest influence) and Dean Martin, you ought to give Jimmy a listen. You'll be in for a real treat."