Died On This Date (December 20, 2009) James Gurley/ Played With Janis Joplin
themusicsover James Gurley
December 22, 1939 – December 20, 2009
James Gurley was a Detroit born rock guitarist who is best remembered for his work along with Janis Joplin in Big Brother & The Holding Company. Gurley began teaching himself to play the guitar when he was 19, mostly by practicing along with old blues records. In 1962, he moved to San Francisco and became immersed in the local music scene. In 1965, he was invited to join Big Brother. They soon added Joplin to sing lead, and after signing with Columbia Records, the group became a breakout act of the San Francisco scene. They released such landmark rock albums as 1967’s self-titled debut, and it’s follow-up, Cheap Thrills. Following the 1971 break up of Big Brother, Gurley continued on over the next three decades collaborating with other artists or playing bass in his own new wave band, Red Robin & the Worms. James Gurley, 69, died of a heart attack on December 20, 2009.
What You Should Own
Bill Graham was a world famous concert promoter who played a key part in the growth of ’60s American rock ‘n roll. As a Jewish child born in Berlin, Graham barely escaped the Nazis by being placed in an orphanage by his mother. Fortunately, that orphanage relocated him to France before the Halocaust. Graham moved to New York City where he received his schooling after which he served in the Korean War and eventually ended up in San Francisco. In 1965, he landed his first show businees job, managing the San Francisco Mime Troupe which lead to him booking and promoting shows at the Fillmore Auditorium. Graham had a knack for finding acts that appealed to the city’s growing counter-culture scene and in doing so helped the scene itself grow. Some of the acts he featured in those early years were 
