Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,290 posts)
Wed Jun 17, 2020, 05:29 PM Jun 2020

On June 4, 1953, Jimmy McCulloch was born.

Darn it, I missed this one. This one's kind of special.

Mon Jun 4, 2018: He would have been 65 today: Jimmy McCulloch.

You probably know him for something he did when he was only fifteen years old:



Jimmy McCulloch


McCulloch on stage with Wings in 1976

James McCulloch (4 June 1953 – 27 September 1979) was a British musician and songwriter best known for playing lead guitar and bass, as a member of Paul McCartney's band Wings from 1974 to 1977. McCulloch was a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One in a Million (formerly known as the Jaygars), Thunderclap Newman, and Stone the Crows.
....

Biography
....

McCulloch first rose to fame in 1969 when he joined Pete Townshend's friends, Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman (piano) and songwriter John 'Speedy' Keen (vocals, drums), to form the band Thunderclap Newman. The band enjoyed a UK No. 1 hit with "Something in the Air" that year. Thunderclap Newman's album, Hollywood Dream, on which McCulloch's title instrumental then and his song "I See It All" later appeared, sold well but was not as successful as their hit single. From January 1971 until mid-April 1971, the band had toured England, Scotland, Holland, and Scandinavia before they disbanded a couple of weeks later.

Something in the Air

"Something in the Air" is a song recorded by Thunderclap Newman, written by Speedy Keen who also sang the song. It was a number 1 single for three weeks in the UK Singles Chart in July 1969. The song has been used for films, television and adverts, and has been covered by several artists. The track was also included on Thunderclap Newman's only album release Hollywood Dream over a year later.

....
Background

In 1969, Pete Townshend, The Who's guitarist, was the catalyst behind the formation of the band. The concept was to create a band to perform songs written by drummer and singer Speedy Keen, who had written "Armenia City in the Sky", the first track on The Who Sell Out. Townshend recruited jazz pianist Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman (a friend from art college), and 15-year-old Glaswegian guitarist Jimmy McCulloch, who subsequently played lead guitar in Paul McCartney's Wings from 1974 to 1977 and died of a heroin overdose in 1979 aged just 26. Keen played the drums and sang the lead.

He later joined up with someone else who had been in another group. See:

Forty years ago today, Jimmy McCulloch quit Wings.

This day in Rock, September 8


From two months ago:

Born on this day in 1945, Speedy Keen, of "Thunderclap Newman." Hitting the big 7-0, Bud Cort.

Speedy Keen

John David Percy "Speedy" Keen (29 March 1945 – 12 March 2002), was a songwriter, vocalist, drummer and keyboard player, best known for his association with the rock band Thunderclap Newman. He wrote "Something in the Air" (1969) for the band, which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and released two solo albums.

Thunderclap Newman

Thunderclap Newman was a British rock band that Pete Townshend of the Who and Kit Lambert formed in 1969 in a bid to showcase the talents of John "Speedy" Keen, Jimmy McCulloch, and Andy "Thunderclap" Newman.

Their single, "Something in the Air", a 1969 UK number one hit, remains in demand for television commercials, film soundtracks and compilations. The band released a critically acclaimed rock album, Hollywood Dream, and three other singles (which appeared on the album), "Accidents", "The Reason" and "Wild Country".

From 1969 until 1971, the nucleus of the band consisted of the songwriter Speedy Keen (vocals, drums, guitar), Andy "Thunderclap" Newman (piano) and Jimmy McCulloch (guitar). Pete Townshend (using the alias "Bijou Drains" ) played bass guitar on their album and singles, all of which he had recorded and produced at the IBC Studio and his Twickenham home studio. The band augmented its personnel during its tours: in 1969 with James "Jim" Pitman-Avery (bass guitar) and Jack McCulloch (drums); and in 1971 with Ronnie Peel (bass guitar) and Roger Felice (drums). The band folded in April 1971 but was resurrected by Andy Newman with a new group around 2007.

They had only one hit, but it was a great one. Jimmy McCulloch was all of 15 or 16 when the song came out.



Jimmy McCulloch is the one wearing the white t-shirt with the stripes that look like suspenders:



Actual footage?



As for Bud Cort: who?

Bud Cort

Bud Cort (born Walter Edward Cox; March 29, 1948) is an American film and stage actor, comedian, writer, director and voice artist widely known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's 1971 film Harold and Maude and the eponymous hero in Robert Altman's 1970 film Brewster McCloud.

{snip}

Filmography

1970 The Strawberry Statement Role: Elliot—Coxswain

The Strawberry Statement (film)

Release date June 15, 1970

The Strawberry Statement is a 1970 cult film about the counterculture and student revolts of the 1960s, loosely based on the non-fiction book by James Simon Kunen (who has a cameo appearance in the film) about the Columbia University protests of 1968.

Premise

The film details the life of one student. Its setting is not Columbia University in New York City but a fictional university in Stockton, California, which is based on San Francisco State College (later San Francisco State University). Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air" and numerous other rock songs are used on the soundtrack.



Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Music Appreciation»On June 4, 1953, Jimmy Mc...