Jimmy Castor is known most for the boogaloo crossover hit "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Calling You" (1966), the Top Ten pop single "Troglodyte (Cave Man)" (1972), and the crucial hip-hop building block "It's Just Begun" (also 1972), among other oft-sampled material. While animated funk was the musician's specialty, at least from a commercial perspective, Castor was no mere novelty act, with his roots in doo wop and jazz visible throughout his career. Moreover, John Pruitt, his songwriting and production partner, called him "the Everything Man," a nickname with merit. In addition to playing saxophone, his primary instrument, Castor wrote, arranged, produced, sang, played keyboards, mastered Latin percussion, and was a bandleader, most notably helming the Jimmy Castor Bunch throughout the '70s. His album discography is highlighted by It's Just Begun, which reached number 27 on Billboard's LP chart in 1972, and ends with a solo set issued just over a decade later. A New York native (born in Manhattan), Jimmy Castor became involved with music during his childhood. He wrote and recorded the 1956 single "I Promise to Remember" with the Juniors, a group whose roster included Al Casey, Jr., Orton Graves, and Johnny Williams. Castor replaced Frankie Lymon in the Teenagers in 1957 before switching to sax in 1960. He appeared on several soul-jazz and Afro-Latin sessions -- he also played on Dave "Baby" Cortez's 1962 hit "Rinky Dink" -- and in 1966 had his first of three Top 40 pop hits with "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You," issued on Smash. Castor launched the Jimmy Castor Bunch in 1970, and after a pair of independent singles signed the band to RCA with a lineup that included conga player Lenny Fridle, Jr., bassist Doug Gibson, guitarist Harry Jensen, drummer Bobby Manigault, and keyboardist/trumpeter Gerry Thomas. Their first full-length, It's Just Begun, ignited the next phase for Castor with "Troglodyte (Cave Man)," a number six pop hit (number four R&B). Castor and company almost matched that success in 1975 with "The Bertha Butt Boogie" (number 16 pop, number 22 R&B), taken from the Atlantic album Butt of Course... By the end of the '70s, the Jimmy Castor Bunch had released 11 LPs containing a total of 14 charting A-sides. Continuing as a solo act in the '80s, Castor released C at the turn of the decade on his own Long Distance label. Three years later, The Return of Leroy was issued on Salsoul's Dream subsidiary, with side one containing remixes by Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan. Castor dented the R&B chart with a couple mid-decade singles, and in 1988 reached number 29, duetting with Joyce Sims on a cover of "Love Makes a Woman," previously recorded by Barbara Acklin. Although he stopped recording, Castor's music continued to be heard in the ensuing decades through the work of sample-savvy hip-hop producers. He died of heart failure at the age of 71 on January 16, 2012. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi