- He acquired the nickname "Mr. Easy", and the record company began molding him as a potential crossover star for white audiences, as well as a professional rival to Capitol Records' recording star Nat "King" Cole.
- In 1950, he joined Three Dots and a Dash, saxophonist Big Jay McNeely's backing vocal quartet, and featured prominently on their record releases.
- Along with Charles Wright, Belvin was involved with Kent-Modern A&R man Tony Hilder in the late 1950s. In 1962, the single "Tonight My Love", backed with "Looking For Love", was released posthumously on Tony Hilder's Impact label.
- In 1958, he recorded on Dot Records with a group, the Shields, who included lead singer Frankie Ervin and guitarist Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Their record "You Cheated" reached No. 15 on the U.S. pop chart and No. 11 on the R&B chart.
- Belvin was born in San Antonio, Texas, and moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, at the age of five.
- In 1956, the single "The Girl in My Dreams" b/w "I Wanna Know Why", recorded with Eugene Church as The Cliques, peaked at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100. "The Girl in My Dreams" was covered by the Four Lovers (two of whose members, including Frankie Valli, would later become The Four Seasons).
- His style was influenced by Nat "King" Cole and Billy Eckstine, and became a model for Sam Cooke and others.
- Although his early solo records were unsuccessful, his fourth record, "Dream Girl", credited to Jesse & Marvin and featuring Marvin Phillips on saxophone, reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart in 1953.
- On July 10, 1949, Belvin did the opening act with Big Jay McNeely and Lionel Hampton at the 5th Cavalcade of Jazz that was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. in Los Angeles at the Wrigley Field ballpark.
- His biggest hit was "Goodnight My Love", which reached No. 7 on the R&B chart. Some sources report that the piano on the session reportedly was played by 11-year-old Barry White. However, in an interview in 1995 White denied this.
- He was an American singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s.
- Shortly after finishing a performance on a bill with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and Marv Johnson on February 6, 1960, Belvin and his wife were killed in a head-on collision at Hope, Arkansas.
- Having been drafted into the army around 1953, Belvin continued to write songs. His composition "Earth Angel", eventually co-credited to Belvin and Hollywood Flames singers Curtis Williams and Gaynel Hodge after a legal dispute, was recorded by The Penguins, and became one of the first R&B singles to cross over onto the pop charts, selling 1 million copies in 1954/1955.
- Inspired by his wife and manager Jo Ann to develop his style, Belvin signed to RCA Records in 1959, and immediately had a Top 40 hit with "Guess Who", written by his wife. This song originally started as a love letter from her to him, and Belvin turned it into the hit song it became.
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