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Jimmy McCulloch
Jimmy McCulloch in 1976
Background information
Born	4 June 1953(1953-06-04) Glasgow, Scotland
Died	27 September 1979 (aged 26) Maida Vale, West London, England
Genres	Rock, hard rock
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1967 - 1979
Associated acts	Wings, Thunderclap Newman, Stone the Crows, Small Faces, The Dukes

James '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, as lead guitarist playing alongside Peter Frampton on two tracks — "Apron Strings" and "I Feel Better". McCulloch was a friend of The Who, and his band Thunderclap Newman was created and produced by Pete Townshend.

Biography

In 1972 at the age of eighteen, McCulloch joined the blues rock band Stone the Crows, replacing guitarist Les Harvey who died from being electrocuted on stage. McCulloch helped Stone the Crows complete their Ontinuous Performance album, playing on the tracks, "Sunset Cowboy" and "Good Time Girl".

After Stone the Crows broke up in 1973, McCulloch had a short stint in Blue and played guitar on Brian Joseph Friel's first album, under the pseudonym 'The Phantom', before joining Wings in April 1974. McCulloch's debut track with Wings was "Junior's Farm".

McCulloch's rig normally consisted of a Gibson SG and a Gibson Les Paul, and he occasionally played bass guitar when McCartney was at the piano or acoustic guitar.

During his time with Wings, he formed White Line with his brother Jack on drums and Dave Clarke on bass, keyboards and vocals. They played several impromtu gigs and released a single, "Call My Name" / "Too Many Miles". A 13-track album, White Line - Complete, was finally relelased in 1994 on Clarke's Mouse Records.^[2]

In September 1977, McCulloch left Wings to join the reformed Small Faces. McCulloch's stint with the Small Faces did not last and shortly after leaving, he started a band called Wild Horses with Brian Robertson, Jimmy Bain and Kenney Jones.

McCulloch's last band was The Dukes. His last recorded song, "Heartbreaker", appeared on their only album, The Dukes.

McCulloch died from a heroin overdose in 1979^[3] 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.

References