Sad to hear the news of the death of the great jazz singer “Little” Jimmy Scott. Scott was 88 and suffered from Kallmann’s syndrome, an extremely rare genetic condition, which meant that he never reached puberty. The condition stunted his growth at 4’11” until he grew a further 8 inches at the age of 37 (making him 5’7”). His unusual high voice was a result of Kallmann’s syndrome.

Jimmy Scott was born on July 17, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio. He began singing in the church choir with his mother, but he was orphaned at 13 when she was killed by a drunk driver. Scott’s career was a series of ups and downs and had faded to the extent that, by the late 1960s he had returned to his hometown to work as a hospital orderly, shipping clerk and as a hotel elevator operator. His career saw a revival in the 1990s largely due to the efforts of Lou Reed and David Lynch after he resurfaced at the funeral of songwriter Doc Pomus. Scott sings “Sycamore Trees” in the finale of Twin Peaks.

I’ve seen Scott perform on several occasions over the years, and there was no one else like him. The last time was when he guested with Antony and The Johnsons at Carnegie Hall. In the introduction to a 2011 interview with Scott at The Quietus, filmmaker Nicky Abrahams asked Antony what he thought about Scott’s legendarily vulnerable voice:

“Jimmy Scott, peerless, spirit brother of Billie Holiday, sings like a sobbing diamond. Now a great elder, he is untouchable, his sense of timing is mystical.”