Funk legend Jimmy Castor, a soul saxophonist, singer and songwriter whose tune, “It’s Just Begun,””morphed over 40 years into an anthem for generations of hip-hoppers and mainstream musical acts, died of apparent heart failure in a Las Vegas hospital, family members said Tuesday. He was 71. Hr was hospitalized in November after suffering a heart attack and undergoing quadruple bypass surgery. He died Monday at Saint Rose Dominican Hospital, his son said.
His work was sampled by other artists more than 3,000 times, his son said, and he continued to work and perform until last August, when he played at the Long Beach Funk Festival in California. Jimmy Castor Jr. said his father had booked dates for a European tour this year.
