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Jimmy Castor, band leader of the Jimmy Castor Bunch, died Monday (Jan. 16) in Las Vegas. The cause of death of the 71 year old is "currently unknown," according to Prefix Magazine.
Castor started as a doo-wop singer before transitioning into a disco funk saxophonist in the early 60s. In 1972, Jimmy Castor formed the Jimmy Castor Bunch, consisting keyboardist/trumpeter Gerry Thomas, bassist Doug Gibson, guitarist Harry Jensen, conga player Lenny Fridle Jr., and drummer Bobby Manigault.
Soon after signing to RCA, the Jimmy Castor Bunch delivered several consecutive hits, one being "Troglodyte (Cave Man)." "Troglodyte (Cave Man)" was Castor's biggest Hot 100 hit, reaching No. 6 in 1972. A slew of our favorite artists have sampled Castor's top ten hit: Christina Aguilera ("Back in the Day"), N.W.A. ("Gangsta Gangsta," "The Dawyz of Wayback"), Blackstreet ("Don't Leave Me"), Wu-Tang Clan ("Wu Banga" (Remix), Madonna ("Into the Groove 2008") and more.
Most recently, Kanye West sampled Castor's "I Just Wanna Stop" on "We Don't Care," off his freshman album, "The College Dropout."
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