James Gurley

For a time, he played with J.P. Pickens and the Progressive Bluegrass Boys.

In the summer of 1965, 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. His fearlessly wild guitar playing made the band's reputation for "far-out" psychedelic experimentation. He said it developed from his admiration of John Coltrane's barrier-breaking saxophone solos.

A few weeks after Janis Joplin joined the band, James began having an affair with her. Once James and Janis became involved, he moved out of the apartment he shared with his wife and moved in with Janis. According to Janis, that arrangement ended the day Nancy came barging through the front door of Janis's apartment. "What an embarrassing situation," Janis told Jim Langdon later. "His old lady comes marching into my bedroom with the kid and the dog and confronts us." James continued his affair with Janis for a while, but eventually returned to Nancy, who forgave both him and Janis, with whom she had a close friendship. In 1966, the members of Big Brother, along with their wives and children, all moved into a single house in Lagunitas, California. He was know as the first Guitarist in 'space', due to his progressive 'acid' style, and one of the most influential of the Sanfransisco sound. Read Less

He played bass with Robin Reed on vocals, Mitch McKendry aka Mitch Master on lead guitar, Jerome Jim Holt on Sax, and James's son Hongo Gurley (from first wife Nancy) on drums. He recorded with New Age drummer Muruga Booker and was actively involved in writing and recording solo work. In May 1997, he stopped touring with Big Brother to devote his full attention to these projects. The first offering was entitled "Pipe Dreams" and was released in January 2000. Read Less

His wife, Margaret, survived him, as did his two sons, Django and Hongo. Read Less