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Street in Renzie to Be Renamed for Skyliners' Beaumont
By Jason Togyer
The Tube City Almanac
July 05, 2019
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Jimmy Beaumont, shown fourth from left on the cover of The Skyliners' first LP, was born in Pittsburgh but lived in McKeesport for nearly 50 years until his death in 2017.
A portion of Tulip Drive near the Lions Bandshell in Renziehausen Park will be renamed for the late Jimmy Beaumont.
McKeesport City Council on Tuesday by 5-0 vote approved a proposal from Mayor Michael Cherepko and Council Vice-President Jamie Brewster-Filotei to rename the section of street for Beaumont, former lead singer of The Skyliners, who died Oct. 7, 2017, at his home in McKeesport at age 76.
Jimmy Beaumont Boulevard will be dedicated on Aug. 11, when the remaining Skyliners perform at Renzie.
Beaumont was born in Pittsburgh's Knoxville section but had lived in McKeesport's Myer Park neighborhood since the 1960s.
"We have stars in McKeesport that we take for granted, and he was a star in the city of McKeesport," Cherepko said.
The Skyliners formed in Pittsburgh at the dawn of the rock 'n roll era. The vocal group shot to international fame in 1958 with its recording of "Since I Don't Have You," a song written by the members of the group with their manager, Joe Rock.
The single reached No. 12 on the Billboard pop chart and made the top 5 on the rhythm and blues chart. It has since become a pop standard, covered by artists ranging from Ronnie Milsap and Art Garfunkel to Guns 'n Roses and Ron Sexsmith.
The group scored additional hits with "This I Swear," "It Happened Today" and "Pennies from Heaven" and just missed the Top 100 with its version of the Chuck Willis song "Close Your Eyes," which became a regional hit in Pittsburgh and other cities in 1961.
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. Beaumont was the last original member of The Skyliners still performing with the group; guitarist Jackie Taylor is the last surviving member from the original lineup, but no longer performs with the Skyliners.
Brewster-Filotei asked members of the Beaumont family if they would be OK with renaming the stretch of Tulip Drive for the singer, who had suffered from heart problems in recent years.
The city decided to rename the stretch of Tulip Drive between Eden Park Boulevard and Arboretum Drive for Beaumont because there are no homes or businesses whose addresses would need to be changed, Cherepko said.
Jason Togyer is editor of The Tube City Almanac and volunteer executive director of Tube City Community Media Inc. He may be reached at jtogyer@gmail.com.
Originally published July 05, 2019.
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