Twisted Tales: 'Black Elvis' Jesse Belvin Has Left the Building Too Soon

Posted on May 30th 2008 5:00PM by James Sullivan
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He might have been the black Elvis. They called him "Mr. Easy," both for his smooth delivery and his facile knack for writing new songs. He had a No. 2 R&B hit before turning 21. One of his biggest smashes closed Alan Freed's and Dick Clark's shows every night. He wrote a four-million-selling hit that has been called the most popular R&B song of all time. Never heard of Jesse Belvin? That's because he died in a head-on car crash, at age 27, in 1960, seated beside his wife.

Born in San Antonio in 1932, Jesse Lorenzo Belvin soon moved to Los Angeles with his family. Still in his teens, he joined saxophonist Big Jay McNeely's band as a vocalist. Like many black L.A. singers of the time, he recorded for the independent record label of a Hollywood store owner name John Dolphin, whose underhanded tactics eventually led to his shooting death at the hands of a disgruntled songwriter.

Belvin began recording for Specialty Records with fellow vocalist Marvin Phillips, and their duet 'Dream Girl' just missed the top spot on the R&B chart in 1952. Belvin's fast-surging career was put on hold when he was drafted into the military, though he did find time during a leave to write 'Earth Angel.' Recorded by a one-hit vocal group called the Penguins, the Top Ten pop smash has been cited as the most consistently popular R&B song ever.

By all accounts, Belvin was a classic case of the old-school R&B performer who squandered most opportunities for long-term security in favor of quick cash. He was famous for dropping into publishing houses, tossing off new tunes and collecting small handfuls of $20 bills in exchange for his writing credits. Belvin's 1956 recording of 'Goodnight My Love' became a favorite of rock 'n' roll pioneers Freed and Clark; the piano on the session was said to have been played by an 11-year-old kid named Barry White.

When he signed with RCA, Belvin was seen as having crossover potential on par with Nat "King" Cole's, and the label put him to work recording lush versions of standards such as 'In the Still of the Night' and 'Makin' Whoopee.' But Belvin never lived to see his second album, 'Mr. Easy,' hit the stores.

Appearing with Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson in Little Rock, Ark., in the city's first-ever integrated concert, the singer was reportedly the victim of racist threats. There has been speculation that someone tampered with the tires of his car during the show, causing the accident. The charge was never proved. Neither was Belvin's talent.