James Calvin Wilsey

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James Calvin Wilsey
Born(1957-07-12)July 12, 1957
Lakeshore Records

James Calvin Wilsey (July 12, 1957 – December 24, 2018) was an American musician. He played bass with

drug addiction and, toward the end of his life, periods of homelessness. He died from multiple organ failure related to hepatitis and drug use.[2]

Musical style

Wilsey's 1965 Fender Stratocaster and use of reverb, delay and gentle vibrato gave a distinctive sound to Isaak hits such as "Wicked Game" (the opening two-note riff, in his own words, "crystallizes Wilsey's approach") and "Blue Hotel".[3] Producer Erik Jacobsen remarked, "In terms of the feeling Jimmy was able to put into a song with the wang bar and the tremolo and effects — Jimmy had a really magical touch..."[2]

Career

In 1977, Wilsey joined the

octaves.[2]

Wilsey joined Chris Isaak's band Silvertone shortly after its formation in 1980. They initially played in many local San Francisco night clubs. Isaak recalled upon Wilsey's death that "Jimmy had so much heart and a great sound".[2] However, the two became estranged by the early 1990s due to Wilsey's impatience with Isaak's behavior and his own worsening drug problems.[2]

In 1998, Wilsey formed a short-lived instrumental band called the Mysteries.[2] Dropping the moniker "Calvin", Wilsey released a solo album of guitar instrumentals in 2008, titled El Dorado, which paid homage to musical influences such as Duane Eddy, the Shadows, Billy Strange, James Burton and Link Wray.[4] Wilsey's last commercial recording under his own name was in 2012, when he contributed a cover of Johnny Cash's "The Man Comes Around" to the soundtrack to the film Killing Them Softly. In 2017, he played guitar on Miss Derringer's cover of "Unchained Melody".

Personal life and death

In the 1990s, Wilsey met fashion boutique owner and designer Winter Mullender. They married in 2003 and had a son, Waylon.

LAC+USC Medical Center in December of that year with the onset of organ failure, and died on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.[2]

Selected discography

Solo

  • El Dorado (2008)

With the Avengers

With Chris Isaak

References

  1. ^ "Happy Birthday, Jimmy Wilsey!". Telecaster Guitar Forum. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Michael Goldberg (28 January 2019). "The 'King of Slow': Remembering Guitarist James Calvin Wilsey". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  3. ^ Elliott, Steve (10 January 2015). "James Wilsey, Former Chris Isaak Guitarist". Something Else!.
  4. ^ "James Wilsey Finds El Dorado". Punk Turns 30. 26 February 2008.

External links

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