James Dewar (12 October 1942 – 16 May 2002) was a Scottish musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971 and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trower ...

and

Stone the Crows Stone the Crows were a Scottish blues rock band formed in Glasgow in late 1969. They are remembered for the onstage electrocution of guitarist and founding member Les Harvey. History The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to ...

, the latter having its beginnings as the resident band at Burns Howff in Glasgow.

Biography

Dewar's career began with

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

and the Luvvers in the early 1960s. His career eventually reached its

zenith The zenith (, ) is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere directly "above" a particular location. "Above" means in the vertical direction (Vertical and horizontal, plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The z ...

with the Robin Trower Band, a British rock

power trio A power trio is a rock band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, leaving out a dedicated vocalist or an additional rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

, after the 1974 release of the album ''

Bridge of Sighs The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', ) is a bridge in Venice, Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Prison (''Prigioni Nuove'') t ...

''. Dewar made his mark as an acclaimed

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly black Motown and St ...

singer, performing in front of sold-out stadiums and concert halls at the crest of the 1970s

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

era. The Scot had a rich, powerful voice, with a soulful timbre and has been regarded by critics as one of the most under-rated rock vocalists. His vocal sound was deep, gritty and resonating, his style shows the influence of

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

and

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

. Like

Paul Rodgers Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English-Canadian singer. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free (band), Free, Bad Company, The Firm (rock band), the Firm and The Law (English band), the L ...

and

Frankie Miller Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''Full House'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " D ...

, his voice evoked a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

-inspired sound. Dewar and Trower parted ways in 1983 when Trower was dropped by

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...

. Dewar recorded his one solo album, ''Stumbledown Romancer'', during the 1970s at the height of his career, but it was not released until two decades later. He collaborated primarily with former

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...

organist Matthew Fisher on the album, with the title track relating a hard-luck story. At Dykebar Hospital in Paisley, Scotland, Dewar died in May 2002 of a stroke after years of disability resulting from a rare medical condition,

CADASIL CADASIL or CADASIL syndrome, involving cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy, is the most common form of hereditary stroke disorder and is thought to be caused by mutations of the '' NOTCH3'' gen ...

, which caused a series of strokes. His funeral was held at Paisley's Woodside Crematorium.

Discography

With Stone the Crows

on bass: *1970: ''

'' *1970: '' Ode to John Law''

With Robin Trower Band

as lead singer and bassist (except where noted): * 1973: '' Twice Removed from Yesterday'' * 1974: ''

'' * 1975: '' For Earth Below'' * 1976: '' Robin Trower Live!'' * 1976: '' Long Misty Days'' * 1977: '' In City Dreams'' (lead singer only) * 1978: '' Caravan to Midnight'' (lead singer only) * 1980: '' Victims of the Fury'' * 1983: '' Back It Up''

Solo

* 1998: ''Stumbledown Romancer'' * 2015: ''Word for Word'' CD single

References

External links

TrowerPower.com
– Official

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Dewar, James 1942 births 2002 deaths Musicians from Glasgow Scottish baritones Scottish bass guitarists 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish rock singers 20th-century Scottish musicians 20th-century British bass guitarists British male bass guitarists