Jimmy's Story
Okay, try to keep up!
Jimmy:
- Grew up in the projects of Memphis, TN
- Was the high school classmate of Elvis Presley
- Played professional baseball with the New York Yankee's organization
- Was later discovered in a Memphis record store by a New York talent manager because of his resemblance to Elvis and Ricky Nelson; and was then groomed to be a teen idol
- Was "adopted" by Joe Colombo (notorious New York crime family boss); back then, in the '50s and '60s, the U.S. music industry was controlled to a large degree by the mob
- Was a poster boy for the Italian American Civil Rights League, a political organization started by Joe Colombo in the early '70s to combat derogatory stereotypes about Italian Americans
- Was signed by multiple labels throughout his career, and appeared in numerous teen magazines (one of those magazines revealed ten special secrets about Jimmy)
- Wrote (and continues to write) original '50s style rock 'n roll songs
- Moved to Japan to evade an ongoing FBI investigation (if you've got ties to the mob, the FBI is going to have some questions); lived and performed there for the better part of three decades
- "Fell in love with a rock and roll girl, she plays guitar in a rock 'n roll band, she's not like most other girls, she comes from far away Tokyo Japan"... he didn't get the girl, but he did get a great song
- Doesn't drink alcohol, doesn't smoke and has never taken drugs...but he does drink a lot of milk
- Is now living in the USA and is still rockin' at age 84
For a guy that wears a lot of black, Jimmy sure has led one colorful, crazy life!
Jimmy is the subject of an upcoming documentary film, The Jimmy Project, which details his longstanding alliance as protégé of infamous mafioso Joe Colombo. Visit the Audio Visual Motion website for more information about this project. Oh, and in case you were wondering, his teddy bear's name is Lucky!
Jimmy's story is one thing, but seeing him perform live is another. He performs classic '50s rock 'n roll with a passion that is authentic, contagious and utterly unique; nobody rocks it like Jimmy. But don't take our word for it - go and see for yourself!