Jimmy McCulloch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jimmy McCulloch | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 June 1953 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 27 September 1979 (aged 26) Maida Vale, West London, England |
| Genre(s) | Rock Hard Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1967 - 1979 |
| Associated acts | Wings, Thunderclap Newman, Stone the Crows, Small Faces, The Dukes |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Gibson SG | |
Jimmy McCulloch (4 June 1953 – 27 September 1979) was a Scottish musician, born in Glasgow, who was best known for playing lead guitar in Paul McCartney's Wings from 1974 to 1977. Before that, McCulloch had been a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One in a Million (from the age of 11, when the band was known as The Jaygars), Thunderclap Newman, and Stone the Crows.[1] He also made appearances on a number of albums, including John Entwistle's Whistle Rymes in 1972, and as lead guitarist playing alongside a young Peter Frampton on two tracks — "Apron Strings" and "I Feel Better". McCulloch was a friend of The Who, and his band Thunderclap Newman was discovered and produced by Pete Townshend.
In 1976, while rehearsing for the first concert of the Wings Over America Tour at the Fort Worth Convention Center, McCulloch was wrestling in a backstage dressing room with David Cassidy, and broke his wrist. This delayed the tour by weeks.
McCulloch's rig normally consisted of a Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul, and occasionally played bass guitar when McCartney was at the piano or acoustic guitar.
After leaving Wings, he briefly joined a reunited Small Faces for a club tour, and had minimal participation in the band's two comeback albums.
He also played lead guitar on a live version of "Say it ain't so" with John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Roger Daltrey. That performance would be used as a videoclip for Daltrey's single.
McCulloch's last band was The Dukes. His last recorded song, "Heartbreaker", was off their first and only album The Dukes.
McCulloch died from a heroin overdose in 1979 in his flat in Maida Vale, West London. He was 26. Previously, he had composed the anti-drug song "Medicine Jar" on the Wings album Venus and Mars, and the similar "Wino Junko" on Wings at the Speed of Sound.
