JIM NESBITT
(Singer,Comedy,Deejay)
Given Name: James Nesbitt
Date of Birth: December1, 1931
Where Born: Bishopville, South Carolina
Jim Nesbitt was a South Carolina deejay
who had a flair for tongue-in-cheek humor.
This talent put his name on the Country charts
thirteen times between 1964 and 1970. Many
of his "songs" tended toward Talking Blues
and recitations, but most displayed a clever
wit--often directed to political satire-which
delighted numerous radio audiences and those
who attended many of the package shows in that era.
Little detail is available on Nesbitt' s life, but
during his years on the charts, he worked as a
deejay at WAGS radio in his hometown of
Bishopville, which was some twenty-five miles
west of the larger city of Florence. There he
made TV appearances with Slim Mims and
his Dream Ranch Boys. Jim recorded initially
for Dot and then for Chart, the same company
that would later elevate Junior Samples to his
first taste of fame. While Jim never got the
national TV exposure that raised Samples to
star status, he did do much better on the record
charts.
His initial appearance in front of a national
audience came in the spring of 1961 with Please Mr. Kennedy, which reached the Top 15.
The song, based on The Ballad of Davy
Crockett, was initially released on Country
Jubilee and Ace, becoming a hit on Dot. Two
years later Livin' Off a Credit made a brief
appearance; however, his biggest number came
in 1964 on Chart, with Looking for More in
'64, which remained on the charts for nearly 6
months and reached the Top 10. Done in a
Talking Blues style, the single satirized the
level of rising expectations that resulted from
the current presidential election. A North
Carolina gubernatorial hopeful, Dan K. Moore,
used it successfully for a campaign theme. It
inspired a series of sequels: Still Alive in '65,
Heck of a Fix in '66, Clear the State in '68 and
Having Fun in '71, the first two of which also
charted in the Top 40.
In between these singles, Jim had other
humorous ditties like Mother-in-Law (Top 20,
1964), A Tiger in My Tank (Top 15) and The
Friendly Undertaker (Top 25) (both 1965),
You Better Watch Your Friends (Top 50, 1966)
and Runnin' Bare (Top 20, 1970). Other songs
by Jim poked gentle fun at the problem of
[Air] Pollution, Spiro [Agnew] and Social
Security. His name vanished from the charts
after 1970, but he came back with an album
titled Phone Call from the Devil in 1976
(undoubtedly a reaction to Jerry Jordan's
Phone Call from God). After that, Nesbitt
seemingly dropped from the national scene. IMT (Source: The Ultimate Enclyclopedia of Country Music & it's Performers)
RECOMMENDED ALBUMS:
"Your Favorite Comedy& Heart Songs" (Chart)(/964)
"Truck Drivin' Cat with Nine Wives" ( Chart)( 1968)
"Runnin' Bare" (Chart)(l970)
"The Best of Jim Nesbitt" (Chart)(1971)
"Phone Call from the Devil" (Scorpion)(l976)
Born December 1st, 1931, Jim lived in Bishopville, SC until he was 11
years old. His family moved near Lake City where at the age of 12 his uncle gave
him a guitar. He learned the chords from his mother and learning came naturally.
In high school Jim won several talent contests and after graduating with honors
in 1949 he got his own show on WFEG radio in Sumter, SC. Soon afterward he
joined with Slim Mims and his Dream Ranch Boys at WJMX in Florence, SC. After
about a year he quit the band and became a disc jockey at WAGS in Bishopville,
SC. During his stay at WAGS he recorded his first hit, "Please Mr. Kennedy" in
the spring of 1961. It was initially released on the Country Jubilee and ACE
labels. When it was released on DOT records it became a hit. It would reach #1
on the Billboard charts. He followed up with "New Frontier" (#11 Billboard) on
the Rush label in 1962. From WAGS Jim moved up to WINX in Rockville, MD where
he was named the second leading country & western disc jockey in the greater
Washington, DC area. Quite an accomplishment! Jim has also worked at WCKI in
Greer, SC, WBLU in Salem, VA and WYMB in Manning, SC. In 1964 he approached Slim
Williamson at WPEH Radio with a song he thought would be a sure-fire hit. His
first release on Chart went straight up the charts! "Lookin' For More In '64"
reached #11 on the Billboard charts and #8 on the Cash Box charts. This would
set the stage for many more hits on the Chart label. Late one night he was
driving from Nashville back to his home in the Carolinas when he spotted a car
that had a tiger's tail hanging from it's gas tank. He immediately turned around
and headed back to Nashville. By the next day he had written and recorded "A
Tiger In My Tank". It was one of his top hits, peaking at # 8 for 3 weeks in a
row and staying on the Cash Box charts for 13 weeks in February, 1965. He
released 25 singles and 3 albums on Chart between 1964 & 1973 and a Best Of
package was released in 1971. In 1975 Slim Williamson formed Scorpion Records
and what better way to kick off the new label than with the man that kicked off
Chart! Jim released "Phone Call From The Devil" on that label in 1975.
Unfortunately this would be his last LP. He has recorded several singles on
other labels but none ever made the Billboard or Cash Box charts that I am aware
of. "The Lizard Man" was a regional smash for Jim in 1988 and was his last
studio effort. At the time of his death, November 29, 2007, Jim lived in Florence, SC and was retired. Lost Gold Records, located in South
Carolina, recently released 2 CD's by Jim, "The Best Of Jim Nesbitt" and "Phone
Call From The Devil".