Jimmie Spheeris

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James "Jimmie" Spheeris (born November 5, 1949 in Phenix City ; † July 4, 1984 ) was an American singer-songwriter who released four albums in the 1970s on the Columbia Records and Epic Records labels .

He was of Greek descent, brother of director and producer Penelope Spheeris and cousin of musician Chris Spheeris and director Costa-Gavras .

Life

Spheeris was born in Phenix City ; he was the son of Juanita Gypsy and Andrew Spheeris, who owned and ran a traveling circus called "The Majick Empire". His childhood and growing up in this environment had a great influence on his later work, which can be found in songs such as Lost in the Midways and Decatur Street .

Spheeris had two sisters, Penelope and Linda, and a brother, Andy. Gypsy Spheeris moved the children to San Diego , California after his father was murdered by a contentious circus goer . Eventually the family settled in Venice , California. Gypsy Spheeris worked as a waitress in a bar on Main Street called "The Circle".

In the late 1960s, Jimmie moved to New York City to begin a career as a songwriter. In the liner notes of his debut album, he thanks his friend and colleague Richie Havens , that he the CEO of Spheeris Columbia Records , Clive Davis presented. Davis signed Spheris for four albums and made his debut under the Columbia Öabel.

With the 1971 debut album Isle of View (the title of which is a corruption of the English phrase for "I love you") Spheeris won a loyal fan base and the song I am the Mercury was played on the radio frequently. After the release of the second album, The Original Tap Dancing Kid, in 1973, Spheeris went on tour extensively. Spheeris returned to the studio in 1975 and released The Dragon is Dancing and a year later, in 1976, Ports of the Heart .

After that, his contract had expired and, apart from a single released in 1980, Hold Tight , Spheeris has released no more material on a major record label.

On July 4, 1984, Jimmie Spheeris died at the age of 34 in Santa Monica, California when his motorcycle was hit by a truck at 2 a.m. The driver, Bruce Burnside, has been charged with serious manslaughter and driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Just a few hours before his death, Spheeris had finished recording his next album Spheeris , which was produced by Paul Delph . This last album was not released for 16 years. Delph later re-recorded two of Spheeris' songs for his own album, A God That Can Dance .

A track on Spheeris 'latest album, You Must Be Laughing Somewhere, refers to the life of his friend, author John Kennedy Toole , whose short story The Idiots' Conspiracy won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction after his death .

In 1998, the independent label Rain Records began to re-release Spheeris 'albums on CD, but had to stop the release in 2001 because the rights holder of Spheeris' works, Sony Music Special Products, withdrew the license.

Music genre

Spheeris composed mainly on the guitar and the claver. Stylistically, he moved mainly in the folk music and singer-songwriter genre, although in later works he also borrowed from the areas of jazz , rock music , jazz-rock fusion and new wave music.

With a few exceptions, Spheeris' guitar compositions made use of so-called open tunings , also known as alternate tunings . Johnny Pierce (November 30, 1953 - December 12, 2005) worked with Spheeris from 1973 to 1980, both in the studio and in live performances, and later wrote extensive tablatures on the tunings with which Spheeris worked throughout his artistic career would have.

Spheeris' vocal range covered mainly baritone and tenor , but also allowed him occasional interludes in falsetto . Music critics and fans have often described his voice as “soulful”, “melancholy” or “smoky”.

Long-time friend Jackson Browne contributed back vocals to Spheeris's 1976 album Ports of the Heart . Spheeris was also friends with the musician Laura Nyro , with whom he shared an apartment in New York in the early 1970s.

Discography

  • Isle of View , 1971, Columbia 30988. Produced by Paul Leka .
  • The Original Tap Dancing Kid , 1973, Columbia 32157. Produced by Felix Cavaliere .
  • The Dragon is Dancing , 1975, Epic 33565. Produced by Henry Lewy .
  • Ports of the Heart , 1976, Epic 34276. Produced by David Campbell .
  • An Evening with Jimmie Spheeris (live) , 1999, Rain Records RR005. Produced by Johnny Pierce.
  • Spheeris , 2000, Rain Records RR006. Produced by Paul Delph .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Various sources, including interviews with Jimmie Spheeris personally.
  2. ^ "Remembering Jimmie Spheeris," Pat Alston, Santa Monica Evening Outlook , page A-4, Aug. 18, 1986.
  3. ^ "Remembering Jimmie Spheeris," Pat Alston, Santa Monica Evening Outlook, page A-4, Aug. 18, 1986.
  4. ↑ Liner notes in the "Thank You ..." section of Isle of View, Columbia Records, catalog number C30988
  5. ^ "Five deaths mar Westside's July Fourth," Will Thorne and Rick Cziment, Santa Monica Evening Outlook , p. 1, July 5, 1984.
  6. ^ Johnny Pierce, The Jimmie Spheeris Memorial Gallery , Jimmie Spheeris: Guitar Tablature .
  7. ↑ Example: "Spheeris Show Sparkles," Boo Browning, The Daily Oklahoman , 18, Nov. 8, 1976.
personal data
SURNAME Spheeris, Jimmie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spheeris, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer-songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Phenix City
DATE OF DEATH 4th July 1984