Biography
Jess & James (also known as Jess and James) were a Belgian soul duo active between 1967 and 1971. They were particularly popular in the late 1960s with their backing band, the JJ Band.
Jess & James are the stage names of the Portuguese brothers Fernando and Antonio Lameirinhas. Fernando was born in Portugal in 1944 and Antonio in 1947. From childhood, they were fascinated by music, but in Portugal under the dictator Salazar, there was no money for music lessons. That changed when the Lameirinhas family moved to Belgium and settled in Charleroi. Fernando worked in a marble company and used the money he earned to buy a guitar, which enabled him to attend music college. Antonio learnt to play the bass guitar under his brother’s influence.
In the early 1960s, they formed their first band: The Robots, a typical guitar-based band in the style of the hugely popular… groups of the time, The Shadows and The Spotnicks. However, following the arrival of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, their preference shifted to beat music. When the brothers moved to Brussels, they discovered the American soul music of Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. This music influenced them so much that from that point on, they performed as a soul band. Roland Kluger (Jacques Kluger’s son) became their manager; the band’s name changed to Jess & James, and the JJ Band – featuring brass and percussion – was formed to accompany them. The band’s members included Ralph Benatar and Garcia Morales.
Jess & James performed at the small club Les Cousins in Brussels, where the Belgian rock ’n’ roll band The Cousins had previously been discovered. The singer Jimmy Frey heard them there for the first time, after which he asked the JJ Band to accompany him on his songs ‘Zo mooi, zo blond en zo alleen’ and ‘Rozen voor Sandra’.
Jess and James had a hit with ‘Move’ (1967). The song made it into the Tipparade. The single was a success throughout Europe. The song was covered by The Trammps in 1984 and spent three weeks in the Top 40. (In 1968, Something for Nothing also enjoyed some success). Jess & James’s success was short-lived: soon the J.J. Band went their own way, collaborating with artists such as Francis Goya and Bruno Castellucci. Their 1971 track ‘Changing Face A’ has been sampled by rappers such as O.C. and Raekwon. The brothers have tried to release new material, but they have never replicated the success of ‘Move’.
Based on Wikipedia (in French), translation DeepL (CC BY-SA licence)
1Discography
| Artist | Title | Year | Format | Classification | Gem, favourite, must-listen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Pebbles, Jess & James | Pop Made In Belgium | © & ℗1974 | Vinyl LP, Compilation | Rock / Classic Rock |
6Songs
| Song | Year | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Change | 1974 |
|
| Move | 1974 |
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| Naked | 1974 |
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| Something For Nothing | 1974 |
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| The End Of Me | 1974 |
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| You Can't Cry Every Day | 1974 |
|