Born Jerome Solon Felder in 1925 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of Jewish immigrants. He attended Brooklyn College from 1943 to 1945. Felder became a fan of the blues after hearing a Big Joe Turner record, "Piney Brown Blues". Having contracted polio as a boy, he walked with the aid of crutches. Later, due to post-polio syndrome exacerbated by an accident, Felder relied on a wheelchair.
