RIP: JAMES GURLEY

James Gurley, former guitarist of Big Brother and the Holding Company, the psychedelic blues rock band from San Francisco who assisted Janis Joplin on her meteoric rise to fame in the late 60's has passed away from a heart attack December 20th at the age of 69. He was two days shy of his 70th birthday.
In the summer of 1965, legendary promoter Chet Helms brought James to 1090 Page Street to meet Peter Albin and Sam Andrew of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and shortly thereafter, he joined the band. In June of 1966, Joplin joined the band, and soon aftwerwards she and Gurley began a short lived affair.
Country Joe & The Fish lead guitarist Barry Melton called Gurley "the Yuri Gagarin of rock & roll - the first man in space." Melton added "there was only a handful of us that created our mini-genre of psychedelic guitar, and James was the avatar who blazed the path for the rest of us."
James Gurley died in a hospital in Palm Springs, California.

An under-rated band, in my book, even without Janis they kicked psychedelic ass...!

Rock on James, now you can play with Janis again...