Jimmy Clanton

Jimmy Clanton was born on September 2, 1940 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, an area famed for producing several early rock and roll legends including, Huey “Piano” Smith, Frankie Ford, Johnny Rivers, and John Fred & the Playboy Band.

Early in his teens, Clanton was influenced by the R&B music that came out of the South, especially New Orleans, and formed his first band in 1956. Signed to a recording contract, at seventeen years of age, Jimmy Clanton’s multi-million selling “Just a Dream” hit the top five nationally in the summer of 1958.

A year later, “My Own True Love” charted, followed by another top five hit, “Go Johnny Go”. In 1960, Jimmy was on the Hit Parade again with “Another Sleepless Night” and, in 1962, “Venus in Blue Jeans” landed in the top ten.

Jimmy Clanton starred in the film “Go Johnny Go” in 1959.

In 2007, Jimmy Clanton was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.