Artist: Jimmy Scott

Jimmy Scott was was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto  voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. 

Lionel Hampton gave him the nickname "Little Jimmy Scott" because he looked young and was short and of slight build. His phrasing made him a favorite of artists including  Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Frankie Valli,  Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson. 

He rose to prominence as Little Jimmy Scott in the Lionel Hampton band as lead singer on "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", recorded in December 1949. It became a top ten R&B hit in 1950. Credit on the label went to "Lionel Hampton and vocalists"; Scott received no credit on any of the songs. A similar event occurred several years later when his vocal on "Embraceable You" with Charlie Parker, on the album One Night in Birdland, was credited to the female vocalist Chubby Newsom. 

Scott performed the song "Sycamore Trees" in the climactic final episode of the original Twin Peaks in 1991, and Lou Reed invited him to sing backup on the song "Power and Glory" on Reed's 1992 album  Magic and Loss. 

Scott's 1992 album All the Way was produced by Tommy LiPuma and featured Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, and David "Fathead" Newman. Scott was nominated for a Grammy Award for the album. 

Scott released Dream in 1994 and the album  Heaven in 1996. His next work, an album of pop and rock interpretations entitled Holding Back the Years (1998), was produced by Gerry McCarthy and Dale Ashley. Released in the US by Artists Only in October 1998, it peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard  Jazz Albums chart. In Japan, it won the Swing Journal Award for Best Jazz Album of the Year (2000).

The title track marked the first time in his career that Scott overdubbed his harmony vocal tracks. Holding Back the Years features cover art by Mark Kostabi, liner notes by Lou Reed, and includes versions of "Nothing Compares 2 U" (written by Prince), "Jealous Guy" (John Lennon), "Almost Blue" (Elvis Costello), "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Elton John and Bernie Taupin) and title track "Holding Back the Years". 

On May 10, 2014, Scott's final recording session took place in the living room of his home. The track was recorded for Grégoire Maret's album, Wanted, and was a song Maret wrote for him titled "The 26th of May". Scott died in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas on June 12, 2014, at the age of 88. He was buried in Knollwood Cemetery  in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.