Big Jay McNeely
b. Cecil James McNeely, 29 April 1927, Los Angeles, California, USA. As a tenor saxophonist McNeely was one of the pioneers of the wild, honking style that emerged in the dance halls during the late '40s. The definitive tune of this style was Deacon's Hop, which reached number 1 R&B in 1949. His Wild Wig, which went to number 12 R&B the same year, was McNeely's only other chart record in this style. He returned to the charts in 1959 with the classic There Is Something On Your Mind (number 5 R&B/number 44 pop), but vocalist Sonny Warner was the focus rather than McNeely. During the '80s McNeely revived his career with a series of reissue albums. His new recordings were mainly released in Europe only.