Cullum was born in Romford, East London. He was brought up in Hullavington, Wiltshire, and educated at the independent fee-paying Grittleton House School and the sixth form at Sheldon School. He then went on to study English Literature, and minored in Film Studies, at Reading University where he graduated with First Class Honours.
His mother, Yvonne, is a secretary of Anglo-Burmese origin, whose family settled in Wales after Burma's independence; his father, John Cullum, worked in finance. His paternal grandfather was a British Army officer, while his paternal grandmother was a Jewish refugee from Prussia who sang in Berlin nightclubs.
Cullum married British model Sophie Dahl at a country hotel in the New Forest National Park in England on 9 January 2010.
Cullum released his first album, Jamie Cullum Trio—Heard it All, in 1999, of which 500 copies were made. Due to their rarity, original copies have sold for as much as £600 on eBay. The success of Heard It All Before resulted in Cullum being invited to appear on Geoff Gascoyne's album Songs of the Summer.
After graduating from Reading University, Cullum released a best-selling album, Pointless Nostalgic, which stirred interest from Michael Parkinson[2] and Melvyn Bragg.
Just after Cullum made his first television appearance, on Parkinson in April 2003, he signed a £1m contract[3] for three albums with Universal, who beat Sony in a bidding war. Cullum's third album, Twentysomething, released in October 2003, went platinum and became the #1 selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United Kingdom. Cullum ended 2003 as the UK's biggest selling jazz artist of all time.[3]
Although primarily a jazz musician, he performs in a wide range of styles and is generally regarded as a "crossover" artist with his musical roots firmly based in jazz. Cullum draws his inspiration from many different musicians and listens to an eclectic mix of music from Miles Davis[4] to Tom Waits and many more. Cullum has belonged to several bands, ranging from banging drums in a hip hop group to playing guitar in rock bands such as Raw Sausage and The Mystery Machine, in his teenage youth. Cullum names his elder brother, Ben Cullum, as his biggest musical influence, and the two continue to collaborate extensively.
Cullum is well known not only for his abilities on the piano, but also for his unique entertainment style and charisma. One of the many things that features in Jamie's concerts is the "stompbox" (not to be confused with an effect pedal for guitars), made from a small wooden block. The stompbox is used to amplify a musician's tapping foot. Jamie found this in Australia and uses it to enhance upbeat and fast-paced songs such as Seven Nation Army originally by the White Stripes and "Gold Digger", originally by Kanye West. He is also often found using a looping machine. This plays a heavy part in Cullum's versions of Seven Nation Army and Teardrop by Massive Attack. Cullum is also often found beatboxing at most gigs.
As well as the White Stripes and Kanye West, Cullum has performed work by Massive Attack, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Joy Division, Lady Gaga and many others. He has also performed with Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Will.i.am and Burt Bacharach.
Cullum rarely works to a set list and on average his gigs last just over two hours. The gigs are largely improvised, rooted in jazz but not solely consisting of jazz music.
Cullum has played at many large music festivals, including Glastonbury Festival (in 2004 & 2009), Coachella 2005, 2006 South by Southwest, North Sea Jazz Festival, the Hollywood Bowl (performing with the Count Basie Orchestra) and the 2006 Playboy Jazz Festival. On the April 29th 2006 Cullum played his biggest ever crowd on Queensday in The Netherlands.
Discography:
1999 - Heard It All Before
2001 - Pointless Nostalgic
2003 - Twentysomething
2005 - Catching Tales
2009 - The Pursuit
2010 - Devil May Care
2013 - Momentum
2014 - Interlude
2018 - The song society playlist
2019 - Taller
2020 - The pianoman at christmas
2021 - The pianoman at christmas (The complete edition)
You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
Jamie Cullum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're nobody till somebody cares
You may be king
You may posses the world and its gold
But gold won't bring you happiness when you're growing old
The world still is the same
You'll never change it
You're nobody till somebody loves you
So find yourself somebody to love
You're nobody till somebody loves you
You're nobody till somebody cares
You may be a king
You may posses the all world and its gold
But gold won't bring you happiness when you're getting old
The world still is the same
You'll never change it
As sure as the stars shine above
You're nobody, nobody till somebody loves you
So find yourself somebody
You got to get yourself somebody
Because you're nobody till somebody loves you
You're nobody to somebody cares
You may be a king
You may posses big fat world and its gold
But gold won't bring you happiness when you're going old
The world's always the same, you'll never change it, change it
As sure as the stars shine above
You're nobody, nobody till somebody loves you
So find yourself somebody, somebody to love
The song "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" by Jamie Cullum is about the importance of love and its impact on an individual's life. The song highlights that irrespective of how successful or wealthy one may be, true happiness and fulfillment come from being loved by someone.
The first verse emphasizes the significance of love and care in one's life. The lyrics talk about how material possessions and power cannot replace the feeling of being loved. As one grows old, the importance of love increases even more, and nothing else can replace it.
The chorus of the song repeats the message that an individual is nobody until they find someone to love. The second verse again highlights the fact that material wealth cannot bring happiness to one's life. The world may remain the same, but love can transform an individual's life.
In conclusion, the song encourages the listener to find someone to love and be loved by them to experience true happiness and fulfillment in life.
Line by Line Meaning
You're nobody till somebody loves you
Your worth as a person is measured by the love and care given to you by others
You're nobody till somebody cares
The presence and concern of others define how important you are
You may be king
You might hold great power or wealth
You may posses the world and its gold
You may have material success and abundance
But gold won't bring you happiness when you're growing old
Material possessions and wealth cannot bring you true happiness as you age
The world still is the same
The world remains static and unchanging despite superficial changes
You'll never change it
You cannot alter the world or people's opinions by yourself
As sure as the stars shine above
This fact is as certain as the constant shining of the stars in the sky
So find yourself somebody to love
The key to true happiness is to seek out and love someone else
You got to get yourself somebody
You must actively pursue and attract someone to love
Because you're nobody till somebody loves you
Without love, you are incomplete and insignificant
You're nobody to somebody cares
If no one is concerned about you, then you are unimportant and insignificant
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Peermusic Publishing, MEMORY LANE MUSIC GROUP, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: JAMES CAVANAUGH, LARRY STOCK, RUSS MORGAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind