Wild Jimmy Spruill
Encyclopedia
Jimmy Spruill also known as Wild Jimmy Spruill, was an American
New York
based session
guitarist
.
family in Fayetteville
, North Carolina
, United States
. As a budding guitarist he was weaned on equal proportions of country music
and blues
. By the time he made it to New York
in 1955, he had progressed from a "diddly bow" made from a cigar
box and an elastic band to a Fender Telecaster
and Standel amplifier. Later in his career, he took to playing a Gibson Les Paul
which he "modified" by sawing off most of the body.
In New York, he worked steadily as a session sideman, appearing on records by King Curtis
, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Shirelles, Tarheel Slim and Elmore James
, in addition to putting out singles under his own name. He most frequently worked for the record producers Danny and Bobby Robinson
, who ran record label
s called Fire, Fury, Everlast, Enjoy and VIM out of Bobby's Happy House of Hits record store in Harlem
.
In May 1959, "The Happy Organ
" by Dave "Baby" Cortez reached #1
on the Billboard
chart
, before giving way only one week later to Wilbert Harrison
's "Kansas City", both of which featured guitar solos by Spruill. He almost duplicated this feat in 1961 when Bobby Lewis
's "Tossin' and Turnin'
", featuring Spruill's guitar solo, hit #1 was followed up the charts by the Shirelles
' "Dedicated To The One I Love", which peaked at #3. Another well-known recording on which Spruill plays is "Fannie Mae" by Buster Brown
, which hit the top of the R&B charts in early 1960. He also provided guitar on "Bad Motorcycle" by The Storey Sisters. His rhythm work in the background of some of Elmore James
' last records is also notable. He is rumored to have played on Aretha Franklin
's "Respect
" sessions, and although uncredited, may be somewhere in the mix providing his original "scratching" rhythm guitar. He undoubtedly played without credit on many other well-known rhythm and blues
and rock and roll
records.
Spruill was a showman, known for playing guitar with his teeth. His sound was unconventional, notable for its hard attack and sense of freedom, unexpectedly going from assertive lead parts to rhythmically dynamic, scratching rhythms. At no time did Spruill use picks or any effects on his guitar - his sound was solely the result of his fingers. Among his most interesting solo records is "Hard Grind" (Fire 1006), which was originally issued as the B-side
to "Kansas City March". Other solo sides include "Slow Draggin'", "Cut and Dried", "Scratchin' Twist", and "Slow Draggin".
). In the 1970s and 1980s. He worked as an interior decorator in New York City
, working occasional music gigs when the opportunity arose, and made at least one European tour with guitarist/singer Larry Dale
and pianist/singer Bob Gaddy
whose older records he had played on. He died from a heart attack
while traveling on a bus from Florida
(where he had been visiting his family and saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts) back to his home in The Bronx
on February 15, 1996.
, Great R&B Instrumentals (Ace 819). Several of his solo and sideman efforts are featured on a Japan
ese compilation, New York Wild Guitars (P-Vine
).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
based session
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
.
Early life and success
Spruill was born into a sharecroppingSharecropping
Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land . This should not be confused with a crop fixed rent contract, in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a fixed amount of...
family in Fayetteville
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As a budding guitarist he was weaned on equal proportions of country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
. By the time he made it to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1955, he had progressed from a "diddly bow" made from a cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
box and an elastic band to a Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
and Standel amplifier. Later in his career, he took to playing a Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
which he "modified" by sawing off most of the body.
In New York, he worked steadily as a session sideman, appearing on records by King Curtis
King Curtis
Curtis Ousley , who performed under the stage name King Curtis, was an American saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. Variously a bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer...
, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Shirelles, Tarheel Slim and Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
, in addition to putting out singles under his own name. He most frequently worked for the record producers Danny and Bobby Robinson
Bobby Robinson (record producer)
Bobby Robinson was an African-American independent record producer and songwriter in New York, most active from the 1950s through the mid 1980s. He produced hits by Wilbert Harrison, The Shirelles, Dave "Baby" Cortez, Elmore James, Lee Dorsey, Gladys Knight & The Pips, King Curtis, Spoonie Gee,...
, who ran record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s called Fire, Fury, Everlast, Enjoy and VIM out of Bobby's Happy House of Hits record store in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
.
In May 1959, "The Happy Organ
The Happy Organ
"The Happy Organ" is the name of an instrumental composition made famous by Dave "Baby" Cortez in 1959. Cortez co-composed it with Kurt Wood; both were orphans. A significant portion of the tune bears a strong resemblance to the traditional "Shortnin' Bread" tune. The song topped the Billboard Hot...
" by Dave "Baby" Cortez reached #1
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, before giving way only one week later to Wilbert Harrison
Wilbert Harrison
Wilbert Harrison was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player.Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with the song "Kansas City". The song was written in 1952 and was one of the first credited collaborations...
's "Kansas City", both of which featured guitar solos by Spruill. He almost duplicated this feat in 1961 when Bobby Lewis
Bobby Lewis
Bobby Lewis is an African American rock and roll and R&B singer.-Biography:Lewis learned to play the piano by age six. Adopted at age twelve, he moved to a home in Detroit, Michigan...
's "Tossin' and Turnin'
Tossin' and Turnin'
"Tossin' and Turnin" is a song written by Ritchie Adams and Malou Rene, and originally recorded by Bobby Lewis. The record reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 on July 10, 1961, and R&B chart,, and has since become a standard on oldies compilations. It was named Billboard's number-one...
", featuring Spruill's guitar solo, hit #1 was followed up the charts by the Shirelles
The Shirelles
The Shirelles were an African-American girl group that achieved popularity in the early 1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens , Doris Coley , Addie "Micki" Harris , and Beverly Lee...
' "Dedicated To The One I Love", which peaked at #3. Another well-known recording on which Spruill plays is "Fannie Mae" by Buster Brown
Buster Brown (musician)
Buster Brown was an American blues and R&B singer best known for his hit, "Fannie Mae".Brown was born in Cordele, Georgia, and in the 1930s and 1940s he played harmonica at local clubs and made a few non-commercial recordings...
, which hit the top of the R&B charts in early 1960. He also provided guitar on "Bad Motorcycle" by The Storey Sisters. His rhythm work in the background of some of Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
' last records is also notable. He is rumored to have played on Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's "Respect
Respect (song)
"Respect" is a song written and originally released by Stax recording artist Otis Redding in 1965. "Respect" became a 1967 hit and signature song for R&B singer Aretha Franklin. The music in the two versions is significantly different, and through a few minor changes in the lyrics, the stories told...
" sessions, and although uncredited, may be somewhere in the mix providing his original "scratching" rhythm guitar. He undoubtedly played without credit on many other well-known rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
records.
Spruill was a showman, known for playing guitar with his teeth. His sound was unconventional, notable for its hard attack and sense of freedom, unexpectedly going from assertive lead parts to rhythmically dynamic, scratching rhythms. At no time did Spruill use picks or any effects on his guitar - his sound was solely the result of his fingers. Among his most interesting solo records is "Hard Grind" (Fire 1006), which was originally issued as the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
to "Kansas City March". Other solo sides include "Slow Draggin'", "Cut and Dried", "Scratchin' Twist", and "Slow Draggin".
Later life and death
Spruill formed an East Coast nightclub trio in the mid-1960s, with singer Tommy Knight and drummer Popsy Dixon (now with The Holmes BrothersThe Holmes Brothers
The Holmes Brothers are a vocal and instrumental trio originally from Christchurch, Virginia. Mixing sounds from blues, soul, gospel, and rhythm & blues, they have released nine original albums, with two reaching the top 5 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart. They have gained a following by playing...
). In the 1970s and 1980s. He worked as an interior decorator in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, working occasional music gigs when the opportunity arose, and made at least one European tour with guitarist/singer Larry Dale
Larry Dale
Larry Dale was an American blues singer and guitarist. He was born in Wharton, Texas, United States.During the early 1950s Ennis Lowery took initial inspiration on guitar playing from B.B...
and pianist/singer Bob Gaddy
Bob Gaddy
Bob Gaddy was an American East Coast blues and rhythm and blues pianist, singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his recordings of "Operator" and "Rip and Run," and musical work he undertook with Larry Dale, Wild Jimmy Spruill, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.-Biography:Gaddy was born in...
whose older records he had played on. He died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while traveling on a bus from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(where he had been visiting his family and saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts) back to his home in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
on February 15, 1996.
Legacy
"Hard Grind" is included on the compilation albumCompilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Great R&B Instrumentals (Ace 819). Several of his solo and sideman efforts are featured on a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese compilation, New York Wild Guitars (P-Vine
P-Vine Records
P-Vine Records is a record label started by Blues Interactions, Inc., a firm in Tokyo, Japan established in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi...
).