Born in Cleveland in 1925, "Little" Jimmy Scott lost his mother at age thirteen, the same year he was diagnosed with Kallman's syndrome. The disease stunted his growth and earned him his nickname, but it also left him with a haunting voice, a mesmerizing voice. He soon built a following as a singer touring with Lionel Hampton's great orchestra in the '40s, then performed with many of the stars of the '50s, from Lester Young to Charlie Parker to Dinah Washington, and was signed by Savoy Records. He thought he had his big break when, in 1962, Ray Charles produced what was by all accounts Jimmy's best work, Falling in Love Is Wonderful. But when it was forced off the shelves by contract disputes, Scott worked as an orderly and clerk in Cleveland for almost two decades. Fans thought he was dead-until songwriter Doc Pomus's funeral in March of 1991.As Pomus had instructed in his will, Jimmy sang over his friend's coffin. High-pitched and androgynous, his voice seemed to come out of thin air, transcending gender and age, evoking pure heartbreak. No one knew who he was-heads turned, celebrities conferred, record executives were reduced to tears-until finally Lou Reed turned around and whispered, "He's Jimmy Scott, the greatest jazz singer in the world." And so he was. By the next morning, he had a record deal with Sire that relaunched his career with the masterpiece All the Way, and he has been performing to packed clubs ever since. With full cooperation from Jimmy, his siblings, spouses, and colleagues from Ray Charles to Ruth Brown, Faith in Time is at once an intimate biography, an invaluable history of a life that spanned big band to bebop to pop, and the poignant story of a man whose voice will live forever. With the release of the album All the Way in 1992, Jimmy Scott, then 66, finally got his due and was recognized as a master interpreter of vocal jazz. Ritz, who has written acclaimed biographies of Marvin Gaye, B.B. King, and Aretha Franklin, offers the first profile of the singer, written with the full cooperation of Scott, his family, and his colleagues. Refreshingly, Ritz refuses to sensationalize subjects that he could easily hype: Scott suffers from Kallman's Syndrome (a hormone deficiency that stunted the growth of his testicles), which resulted in his famous alto, and he has struggled with drinking. Instead, Ritz focuses on Scott's remarkable resiliency. Over the course of his 60-year career (which included a stint with Lionel Hampton's orchestra), he has overcome shady businessmen and personal crises with a stoic joie de vivre. This trait is very likely the reason he has been able to rely on friends over the years, to work jobs not related to music, and to realize he has a musical gift that will be acknowledged every so often. These career fits and starts would frustrate even the strongest person, so Scott's life is a fine example of a way to use talent while making a way in the world. Considering he began his career in the 1940s and continues to sing to this day, his story is intriguing and inspiring. Recommended for any library with healthy music holdings. William Kenz, Minnesota State Univ., Moorhead Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Jazz singer Jimmy Scott should be better known for two attributes: one of the purest voices in popular music, and one of the all-time great comeback stories. Scott suffers from Kallman's syndrome, which stunted his growth at age 13 but left him with a haunting, androgynous voice. Every time success loomed, however, fate sidetracked his career. He had a huge hit in 1950 as vocalist with Lionel Hampton's band, but his name didn't appear on the record's label. A 1962 album produced by Ray Charles promised to be his commercial breakthrough, but it was withdrawn in a contractual dispute. After that setback, Scott worked menial jobs for 25 years. Then he sang before music-biz luminaries and record execs at the funeral of his songwriter friend, Doc Pomus. The next day he had a record contract, and today, at 77, he performs in packed clubs. Scott remains a cult figure, but his has grown into a large cult, probably eager to read this intimate portrait, written with his, his family's, and his colleagues' full cooperation. Gordon Flagg Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "A welcome addition to all jazz and popular music collections." -- MultiCultural Review June, 2003 David Ritz is the author of Faith in Time: The Life of Jimmy Scott, Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye , and many other books with or about Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and B.B. King. He is a three-time winner of the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award. He lives in Los Angeles.