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Jesse Belvin

Jesse Lorenzo Belvin (December 15, 1932 – February 6, 1960) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s. Belvin co-wrote the 1954 Penguins' doo-wop classic "Earth Angel", which sold more than 10 million copies, while his top recording was the 1956 single "Goodnight My Love", a song that reached No. 7 on Billboard's R&B chart.

Belvin's success was cut short by his death in a car crash at the age of 27. The accident, which also claimed the lives of his wife Jo Ann and their driver, occurred after a concert in Little Rock, Arkansas that had been disrupted at least twice by white supremacists. According to an Arkansas state trooper at the scene of the accident, the tires of Belvin's 1959 Cadillac had "obviously been tampered with".

After his death, legendary blues singer Etta James referred to Belvin as the "most gifted of us all. Even now I consider him the greatest singer of my generation. Rhythm and Blues, Rock and Roll, crooner, you name it, he was going to be bigger than Sam Cooke, bigger than Nat Cole."

Birth and Death Data: Born San Antonio, Died February 6, 1960 (Hope)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1951 - 1960

Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor vocal, composer, songwriter, leader

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Specialty SP-435 10-in. 12/31/1960 Confusin' blues Jesse Belvin vocalist, tenor vocal, composer  
Specialty X-SP-435 10-in. 12/31/1960 Baby, don't go Jesse Belvin vocalist, tenor vocal, composer  
Specialty SP-447 10-in. 12/31/1960 Dream girl Jesse and Marvin vocalist, tenor vocal, songwriter  
Specialty XSP-447 10-in. 12/31/1960 Daddy loves baby Jesse and Marvin vocalist, tenor vocal  
Specialty SP-550 10-in. 12/31/1960 Gone Jesse Belvin vocalist, tenor vocal, composer, leader  
Specialty XSP-550 10-in. 12/31/1960 One little blessing Jesse Belvin vocalist, tenor vocal, composer, leader  
Specailty SP-559 10-in. 12/31/1960 Where's my girl Jesse Belvin ; Bumps Blackwell Band vocalist, tenor vocal, composer  
Specialty XSP-559 10-in. 12/31/1960 Love, love of my life Jesse Belvin vocalist, tenor vocal  
Imperial IM-262 10-in. January, 1951 Sad story Jesse Belvin ; Big Jay McNeely & Band vocalist, tenor vocal  
Imperial IM-263 10-in. 1/31/1951 All that wine is gone Jesse Belvin ; Big Jay McNeely ; Three Dots and a Dash vocalist, tenor vocal  
Imperial IM-264 10-in. 1/31/1951 Don't cry baby Jesse Belvin ; Big Jay McNeely ; Three Dots and a Dash vocalist, tenor vocal  
Imperial IM-365 10-in. November, 1951 Let's do it Big Jay McNeely & Band ; Three Dots and a Dash vocalist, tenor vocal  
Imperial IM-366 10-in. November, 1951 I'll never love again Big Jay McNeely & Band ; Three Dots and a Dash vocalist, tenor vocal  
Imperial IM-367 10-in. November, 1951 True love Big Jay McNeely & Band ; Three Dots and a Dash vocalist, tenor vocal, songwriter  
Imperial IM-368 10-in. November, 1951 That old mule Big Jay McNeely & Band vocalist, tenor vocal  
Decca L 8475 6/9/1955 Oh, baby!-GH The Tangiers vocalist, tenor vocal  
Decca L 8476 6/9/1955 Remember me-DF The Tangiers vocalist, tenor vocal  
Decca L 8477 6/9/1955 Tabarin-DF The Tangiers vocalist, tenor vocal  
Decca L 8478 6/9/1955 I won't be around-GH The Tangiers vocalist, tenor vocal  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Belvin, Jesse," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/303781.

Belvin, Jesse. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/303781.

"Belvin, Jesse." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/303781

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