One of my good friends, Bill Buckner, emailed me and said Jay Spell died. My heart kind of sank. That was a day or few ago. Jay passed away right at the end of December. The 30th or 31st depending on decimal points. No matter. The point is he is not with us anymore. I had to think about it for a while.
I try not to feel sadness when people leave the living but any person who played some of my favorite music is always a distant friend of mine. It comes from my love of music. We are all connected. My intention is only to help musicians succeed so I can go see them perform and smile. I really enjoy that.
In my very humble opinion some of the best Jimmy Buffett music came from the late 1970’s. I was there in full force. Live and recorded, movies, I saw it all. All I could. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpu95-MYgtw
“You had to be There” was and still is one of my favorite Buffett albums. Jay Spell was all over it. He was on the tour. I was there so many times. Carowinds so many times. I guess I should post a ticket stub or so and tell some war stories. That is for another time.
Most all of the artists who Jimmy had on the stage are very special in their own way. Jimmy has a similar trait I inherited from one of my my grandfathers which is I like “the best.” I have to say that anyone who has played for any length of time with Jimmy ranks among the best at their craft. When you are on this level only the best will do. Jay was one of them.
Yes, Jay was one of them. Jimmy used to introduce him so long ago as being from “Spiveys Corner, North Carolina.” I would smile as a native North Carolinian who had spent fifteen years of my youth in Mississippi I thought this was so cool. Southern boys hittin’ the big time doing well. I freakin’ loved it. That is why to this day I call myself a Jimmy Buffett fan not a parrothead. I was there so early on and I still love it all. Great memories. Parrotheads make this whole thing much bigger than any fan base ever would. And for a fan that is a great thing.
Jimmy has always had that ability to enhance a great story. “Blind” Jay Spell as they have called him was always great. Jimmy made him a very cool player by association and Jay continued to play some awesome blues and boogie until this last year. I already miss him. But even as I write this I am listening to him play with a smile and a tear too. “Nuff said.
Here are some cool links to visit with a bottle of Cella Lambrusco like I did back then:
Saturday Night Live Video:
http://www.jayspell.com/buffett/
Love this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjFGtpuXK5Y
And more…the FM Movie Trailer…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpu95-MYgtw
The myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/jayspellmusic
As the son of a son of a sailor
I went out on the sea for adventure
Expanding the view of the captain and crew
Like a man just released from indenture
As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin’ man
I have chalked up many a mile
Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks
And I learned much from both of their styles.