Biography
James Marcus Smith, 6 November 1938, Houston, Texas, USA. This iconoclastic singer spent his early career in Hollywood, recording demos for song publishing houses. Several low-key singles ensued, credited to Jett Powers and a number of bit parts as an actor ensued, before the Proby appellation surfaced on ‘So Do I’ (1963). ‘Powers’ had already demonstrated a songwriting talent, his most notable composition being ‘Clown Shoes’ for Johnny Burnette in 1962. The artist came to Britain the following year, at the behest of producer Jack Good, to appear on the Around The Beatles television special. An ebullient revival of ‘Hold Me’, originally a gentle ballad, brought Proby a UK Top 3 hit, while the similarly raucous ‘Together’ reached number 8. Proby completely changed direction following a move to Liberty Records and, again, reached the UK Top 10 with a memorable version of ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story....
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