It don't come much tuffer than this, or hipper than this; Young Jessie deals it like it is. Dig it or hit git and split.......
One of the unsung greats of R&B, Young Jessie was born Obediah Donnell Jessie on 28 December 1936 in Dallas, Texas. As a youngster he was part of a school band that also included saxophonist David 'Fathead' Newman. Relocating to Los Angeles, he joined a vocal outfit with Louie Louie composer Richard Berry, the group eventually being recorded as The Flairs. By 1953, both Richard Berry and Young Jessie had embarked on solo careers. Young Jessie recorded his most famous song Mary Lou for Modern Records in 1955 (it would later be covered in 1959 by Ronnie Hawkins) and a year later the magnificent Hit, Git And Split (featuring Sam 'The Man' Taylor's tough saxophone blowing and Mickey Baker's fuse-blowing guitar playing).This terrific 21 track CD assembles Young Jessie's legendary Modern recordings made between 1953-1957 and includes not only his most famous songs but also two previously unreleased snippets of planned soundalike singles as well as a "This Is Young Jessie" station indentification for KDMA (Mad Lad Johnstone's show).With the demise of Modern in 1957, Young Jessie went on to sing with The Coasters on their Searchin' and Young Blood hits and he appeared in 1983 at The Electric Ballroom, Camden (a knockout set released on the now deleted Ace LP 1983 R&B Jamboree, CH 89).
