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Singer Jimmy Ellis, of The Trammps, performs onstage during a concert at South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, S.C. (AP Photo/The Herald)

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James T. Ellis, singer for The Trammps, dies at 74

Best-known for 1970s hit 'Disco Inferno'

Updated: Friday, 09 Mar 2012, 9:10 AM EST
Published : Friday, 09 Mar 2012, 9:07 AM EST

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — James T. "Jimmy" Ellis, who belted out the refrain "Burn, baby burn!" in a 1970s-era disco hit that's still replayed in modern sports arenas, has died. He was 74.

David Turner of Bass-Cauthen Funeral Home in Rock Hill, S.C., said the frontman for The Trammps died Thursday at a nursing home in the city. A cause of death was not immediately known.

The Trammps released "Disco Inferno" — the song with the popular refrain — in 1976. The song was featured in the iconic movie "Saturday Night Fever," its soundtrack winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978. "Disco Inferno" soared up to No. 11 on Billboard's Hot 100 on May 27, 1978.

Turner said a memorial service will be held Friday in Charlotte, N.C.