The 27’s – Jesse Belvin 1932 – 1960

Part 3 in a series on “The 27’s” – notable musicians who have passed away in their 27^th year.

Jesse Belvin was born on December 15, 1932 in Texarkana, Texas, and moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of five.  In the early 1950’s he sang backing vocals in saxophonist Big Jay McNeely's backing vocal quartet, Three Dots and a Dash.  Jesse also released three solo records, none of which achieved much success, but with his fourth record he finally broke through with the song "Dream Girl,” featuring Marvin Phillips on saxophone.  “Dream Girl” reached #2 on the R&B charts in 1953 shortly before Jesse was drafted into the army. 

While in the army Jesse continued to write songs.  His song "Earth Angel” was recorded by The Penguins, and became one of the first R&B singles to cross over onto the pop charts, selling over a million copies.  Throughout the 50’s he continued to sing for numerous labels under different names. His biggest hit was "Goodnight My Love,” which hit #7 on the R&B chart.

Inspired by his wife and manager Jo Anne to develop his style, he signed to RCA Records in 1959, and immediately had a Top 40 hit with "Guess Who,” which was written by his wife. He also recorded an album, “Just Jesse Belvin,” developing a more mature and sophisticated sound. He soon gained the nickname "Mr. Easy" and RCA began considering him as a potential crossover star for white audiences.

Working towards this goal Jesse was scheduled to perform a concert in Little Rock Arkansas.  Also to perform that night with Jesse was Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and Marv Johnson. The show was the first concert to be played before an integrated audience in the history of Little Rock and continued despite numerous death threats.  The concert went on as planned but had to be stopped twice by interruptions from whites in the audience shouting racial epithets and urging white teenagers to leave. 

After the concert Jesse and his wife were involved in a head-on collision near Hope, Arkansas from which neither survived.  Because of the death threats and the racial incidents at the concert there was speculation that Belvin's car had been tampered with prior to the accident, though nothing was ever proved.