James Edgar Spruill (June 9, 1934 – February 3, 1996), also known as Wild Jimmy Spruill, was an American

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

based session

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

, whose guitar solos featured on many

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and pop hits of the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Early life and success

Spruill was born into a

sharecropping Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

family in Fayetteville,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. As a child he listened to both

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and

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 ...

. He learned to play guitar, first with a

cigar box guitar The cigar box guitar is a simple chordophone that uses an empty cigar box as a resonator. The earliest had one or two strings; modern models typically have three or more. Generally, the strings are connected to the end of a broomstick or a 1×2 ...

with an elastic band, and then graduated within a few years to a

Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bo ...

and Standel amplifier. Later in his career, he took to playing a

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...

which he "modified" by sawing off most of the body. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1955, and began working as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

. He most frequently worked for the

record producers A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Danny and Bobby Robinson, who ran the

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

, Fury, Everlast, Enjoy and VIM

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s based at Bobby Robinson's ''Happy House of Hits''

record store A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records, but over the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. He also worked for the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

and other New York-based labels, and appeared on records by

King Curtis Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musicia ...

Little Anthony and the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

, the

Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFad ...

Tarheel Slim Allen Rathel Bunn (September 24, 1923 – August 21, 1977), who was sometimes credited as Alden Bunn and who performed as Tarheel Slim, was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter whose work spanned gospel, blues, doowop, R&B, pop, an ...

, and

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

, as well as releasing singles under his own name. In May 1959 "

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 noted celebrity photographer James J. Kriegsmann and frequent collaborator Ken Wood. A significant portion of the ...

" by

Dave "Baby" Cortez David Cortez Clowney (born August 13, 1938), known by the stage name Dave "Baby" Cortez, is an American pop and R&B organist and pianist, best known for his 1959 hit, " The Happy Organ". Life and career Clowney was born in Detroit Detro ...

reached the top of the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

and was succeeded, the following week, by

Wilbert Harrison Wilbert Huntington Harrison (January 5, 1929 – October 26, 1994) was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player. Biography Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with ...

's "

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

"; both records featured guitar solos by Spruill. Another well-known recording on which Spruill plays is "Fannie Mae" by

Buster Brown Buster Brown is a comic-strip character created in 1902 by Richard F. Outcault. Adopted as the mascot of the Brown Shoe Company in 1904, Buster Brown, along with Mary Jane, and with his dog Tige, became well known to the United States of America ...

, which hit the top of the R&B charts in early 1960. In 1961, he featured on

Bobby Lewis Robert Alan Lewis (February 9, 1925 – April 28, 2020) was an American rock and roll and rhythm and blues singer, best known for his 1961 hit singles " Tossin' and Turnin'" and "One Track Mind". Biography Lewis was born in Indianapolis, Indiana ...

's no.1 hit "

Tossin' and Turnin' "Tossin' and Turnin'" is a song written by Ritchie Adams and Malou René, and originally recorded by Bobby Lewis in the fall of 1960. The record was released on the Beltone label in December 1960. It reached number one on both the ''Billboard' ...

", and at the same time featured on

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadd ...

' "

Dedicated to the One I Love "Dedicated To The One I Love" is a song written by Lowman Pauling and Ralph Bass that was a hit for the "5" Royales, the Shirelles, the Mamas & the Papas and Bitty McLean. Pauling was the guitarist of the "5" Royales, the group that recorded ...

", which peaked at no.3. 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. Among his most interesting solo records is "Hard Grind" (Fire 1006), which was originally issued as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "Kansas City March". Other solo sides include "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 Brothers The Holmes Brothers were an American musical trio originally from Christchurch, Virginia. Mixing sounds from blues, soul, gospel, country, and rhythm & blues, they have released twelve studio albums, with three reaching the top 5 on the ''Billb ...

). In the 1970s and 1980s, he worked as an

interior decorator Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

, working occasional music gigs when the opportunity arose, and made, at least, one European tour with guitarist/singer

Larry Dale Larry Dale (born Ennis L. Lowery, January 7, 1923 – May 19, 2010) was an American blues singer, guitarist and session musician. Life and career He was born in Hungerford, Texas, United States. During the early 1950s he took initial inspiration o ...

and pianist/singer

Bob Gaddy Bob Gaddy (February 4, 1924 – July 24, 1997) 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 wit ...

; whose older records he had played on. He died in February 1996 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

while traveling on a bus from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where he had been visiting his family and saxophonist

Noble "Thin Man" Watts Noble "Thin Man" Watts (February 17, 1926 – August 24, 2004) was an American blues, jump blues and rhythm and blues saxophonist. He primarily played tenor saxophone. The AllMusic journalist, Bill Dahl, considered Watts "one of the most incendi ...

, back to his home in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. He was 61 years old.

Chartings as session player

''Scratchin' • The Wild Jimmy Spruill Story'' : GVC2039, released in 2014

Legacy

Spruill's work may be found on a number of

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s, including the following: *''Great R&B Instrumentals'', Ace Records: 819 ("Hard Grind") *''N.Y. Wild Guitars'', (

P-Vine P-Vine Records is an independent record label based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was started in 1976 by Blues Interactions, a firm founded in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi, as a record label focused on black music. The label name c ...

) (

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese compilation) *''Scratch 'n Twist: Rare And Unissued New York Rhythm And Blues 1956-1962'', Night Train International: NTI CD 7150 *''Scratchin’ • ''The Wild Jimmy Spruill Story'': GVC2039 released in 2014

References

External links

Discography at wangdangdula.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spruill, Wild Jimmy 1934 births 1996 deaths Musicians from Fayetteville, North Carolina African-American guitarists American blues guitarists American male guitarists Fire Records artists American session musicians 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from North Carolina 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians