James Dewar (12 October 1942 – 16 May 2002) was a Scottish musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trowe ...

and

Stone the Crows Stone the Crows were a Scottish blues rock band formed in Glasgow in late 1969. They are remembered for the onstage electrocution of guitarist and founding member Les Harvey. History The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to L ...

, the latter having its beginnings as the resident band at Burns Howff in Glasgow.

Biography

Dewar's career began with

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

and

the Luvvers The Luvvers was a Scottish rock group. They are best known as the backing group to Lulu on her debut chart single, " Shout" (1964). They subsequently had a low-key career of their own before disbanding in March 1966. Career Before they changed t ...

in the early 1960s. His career eventually reached its

zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...

with the Robin Trower Band, a British rock

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quartet ...

, after the 1974 release of the album ''

Bridge of Sighs The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', vec, Ponte de i Sospiri) is a bridge in Venice, Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Priso ...

''. Dewar made his mark as an acclaimed

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly-black Motown and Stax ...

singer, performing in front of sold-out stadiums and concert halls at the crest of the 1970s

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

era. The Scot had a rich, powerful voice, with a soulful timbre, and has been regarded by critics as one of the most under-rated rock vocalists. His vocal sound was deep, gritty, and resonating, his style shows the influence of

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

and

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

. Like

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

and

Frankie Miller Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''Full House'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " D ...

, his voice evoked a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

-inspired sound. Dewar recorded his one solo album, ''Stumbledown Romancer'', during the 1970s, at the height of his career, but it was not released until two decades later. He collaborated primarily with former

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have List of best-selling singles, sold over ...

organist Matthew Fisher on the album, with the title track relating a hard-luck story. At

Dykebar Hospital Dykebar Hospital is a mental health facility in Dykebar, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The main building is a Grade B listed building. The hospital is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. History The hospital, which was designed by Thoma ...

in Paisley, Scotland, Dewar died in May 2002 of a stroke after years of disability resulting from a rare medical condition,

CADASIL CADASIL or CADASIL syndrome, involving cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy, is the most common form of hereditary stroke disorder, and is thought to be caused by mutations of the ''Notch 3'' ge ...

, which caused a series of strokes. His funeral was held at Paisley's Woodside Crematorium.

Discography

With Stone the Crows

on bass: *''

'' (1970) *''

Ode to John Law ''Ode to John Law'' is the second studio album by Scottish band Stone the Crows. Track listing Personnel ;Stone the Crows *Colin Allen – drums, percussion *Maggie Bell – vocals *Jimmy Dewar – bass, vocals *Les Harvey – acoustic ...

'' (1970)

With Robin Trower Band

as lead singer and bassist (except where noted): * 1973 ''

Twice Removed from Yesterday ''Twice Removed from Yesterday'' is guitarist and songwriter Robin Trower's first solo album. It was released in March 1973 in music, 1973. Cover art is by "Funky" Paul Olsen. The album was re-released on CD in 1990 by Capitol Records, Capito ...

'' * 1974 ''

'' * 1975 ''

For Earth Below ''For Earth Below'' is guitarist and songwriter Robin Trower's third solo album with cover art by "Funky" Paul Olsen. It was released in 1975. Track listing All tracks composed by Robin Trower; except where indicated Side one #"Shame the Dev ...

'' * 1976 ''

Robin Trower Live Robin Trower Live is a live album by Robin Trower. Recorded at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden on 3 February 1975 for the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, it was released on vinyl in 1976, and re-released on CD in 1990, 2000, and 2004. T ...

!'' * 1976 ''

Long Misty Days ''Long Misty Days'' is guitarist and songwriter Robin Trower's fourth solo album with cover art by "Funky" Paul Olsen. It was released in 1976. The single "Caledonia" reached #81 in Canada. Track listing All tracks composed by Robin Trower an ...

'' * 1977 '' In City Dreams'' (lead singer only) * 1978 ''

Caravan to Midnight ''Caravan to Midnight'' is the sixth studio album by Robin Trower. The album cover art is by Hipgnosis. It was reissued in 1997 as a 2-on-1 CD along with his next 1980 album ''Victims of the Fury''. Track listing All tracks by James Dewar an ...

'' (lead singer only) * 1979 '' Victims of the Fury'' * 1983 '' Back It Up''

Solo

* 1998 '' Stumbledown Romancer'' * 2015 ''Word for Word'' CD single

References

External links

TrowerPower.com
– Official

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Dewar, James 1942 births 2002 deaths Musicians from Glasgow Scottish baritones Scottish bass guitarists 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish rock singers 20th-century Scottish musicians 20th-century bass guitarists Male bass guitarists