Jimmy Cavallo was an American saxophonist and singer born James Cavallo on March 14, 1927, in Syracuse, New York. He began playing alto saxophone in a high school swing band before switching to tenor saxophone, influenced by jump blues performers including Louis Jordan. After serving in the United States Navy at the end of World War II, he established the Jimmy Cavallo Quartet in 1947, one of the first white rhythm and blues bands. In 1956, Cavallo and the Houserockers appeared in the Alan Freed film Rock, Rock, Rock! and became the first white rock and roll act to perform at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. He also appeared in the 1959 film Go, Johnny, Go!. Cavallo's recording career included the albums The Houserocker (2002), Jimmy Cavallo Live at The Persian Terrace (2002), and Jimmy Cavallo and the Houserockers, Then and Now (2006). He performed regularly into his nineties, including residencies in Florida. Cavallo died of heart failure on December 2, 2019, in Pompano Beach, Florida.
