James Ray "Bud" Cockrell (March 28, 1950 – March 6, 2010) was an American musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the original

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

and one of the lead vocalists for the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

-based

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

rock band

Pablo Cruise Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People *Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer *Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer *Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist *Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer *Pablo Brenes, ...

. Cockrell was in the band at its inception in 1973, but left in 1977 before its most successful album, ''

Worlds Away Worlds Away may refer to: * ''Worlds Away'' (Pablo Cruise album) (1978) * ''Worlds Away'' (Strange Advance album) (1982) * ''Worlds Away'' (Crumbächer-Duke album) (1990) * ''Worlds Away'' (Ian Moss album) (1991) * ''Worlds Away'' (John Norum album ...

'', to form a duo (Cockrell & Santos) with his wife and former

It's a Beautiful Day It's a Beautiful Day is an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1967, featuring vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme and his wife, Linda LaFlamme, on keyboards. David LaFlamme, who as a youth had once p ...

bandmate, Pattie Santos. He was replaced by bassist Bruce Day. Cockrell previously had a brief stint with the band

with

David LaFlamme David LaFlamme (born May 4, 1941 in New Britain, Connecticut) is an American singer and violinist best known for his longstanding association with the San Francisco band It's a Beautiful Day. LaFlamme's mother was from a Mormon family in Salt L ...

and Pattie Santos and featured guests included Airto Moreira and his wife

Flora Purim Flora Purim (born March 6, 1942) is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. She has recorded and performed with ...

Return To Forever Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Hea ...

and jazz fusion bassist

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and voca ...

Biography

He was born James Ray Cockrell in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yaz ...

where his father, Corbet Cockrell, and his uncle, Clint, taught him to play the guitar and bass guitar. Cockrell and his father played in bars throughout the Delta. His mother, Shugg Roncali, and his sisters Dottie, Rita, and Stephanie, still live in the region. Cockrell married Pattie Santos, and left Pablo Cruise to work with her in creating their own album, ''Cockrell & Santos''. Santos was killed in a car crash near Geyserville in Sonoma County, California on December 14, 1989. Cockrell also did a brief stint as the singer with

Sons of Champlin The Sons of Champlin are an American rock band, from Marin County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, formed in 1965. They are fronted by vocalist-keyboardist-guitarist Bill Champlin, who later joined rock band Chicago, from 1981 to 20 ...

from 1977 to 1978 in between his work with Cockrell & Santos. Cockrell wrote many of the songs performed by his bands. He was known as the "Rock and Roller" but also played blues and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

. He spent his last years living in the Delta on dialysis, where he died on March 6, 2010, due to complications of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

Discography

* ''It's A Beautiful Day…Today'' (It's a Beautiful Day, Columbia Records, 1973) * ''

'' (Pablo Cruise's debut album, 1975) * ''

Lifeline Lifeline or Lifelines may refer to: Support, care, and emergency services * Crisis hotline ** Lifeline (crisis support service), Australia-based, now international ** National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, United States * LifeLine (medical tran ...

'' (Pablo Cruise's second album, 1976) * '' A Place In The Sun'' (Pablo Cruise's third album, 1977) * ''A New Beginning'' (Cockrell & Santos' only album, A&M, 1978)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockrell, Bud American male singer-songwriters 1950 births 2010 deaths American rock songwriters American rock singers American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists People from Greenville, Mississippi Singer-songwriters from Mississippi Deaths from diabetes A&M Records artists Guitarists from Mississippi 20th-century American bass guitarists Pablo Cruise members 20th-century American male musicians