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Jimmy Thudpucker is a fictional character in the comic strip ''
Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, ...
'', created by
Garry Trudeau Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948) is an American cartoonist best known for creating the ''Doonesbury'' comic strip. Trudeau won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1975, making him the first comic strip artist to win a ...
. He first appeared in the strip in 1975. He is generally seen as a combination of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
and
John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...
(and to some extent,
Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...
), and became a rock star in the seventies, when he was only 19. Others have compared Thudpucker to a young
Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...
.


Fictional character biography

Unlike many of the other parodied and fictional celebrities in the strip, who are often portrayed as shallow and conceited, Jimmy is essentially a good person; he is one of the few adult characters to retain the round eyes of innocence that the strip's child characters lose when they grow up. He is very moral and not afraid to turn down money for what he feels is right. He even wrote a song about ''Doonesbury'' character Ginny Slade to help her raise money for her campaign for free, because he agreed with her politics. Jimmy is also extremely devoted to his fans, his wife Jennifer, and their son, Feedback. Jimmy expatriated to
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
during the 1990s, and became the number one act in the country. While there he performed in a benefit organized by Kim Rosenthal to help the poorly paid workers at a
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...
plant. He has since returned to America. Jimmy's biggest fault seems to be his habit of "reinventing" himself, often switching musical genres on a whim. When he does so he changes his name to match his new style; he became Jimmy Ray Thudpucker to perform
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
, MC Jimmy to perform
rap music Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
, Jimmy T. to record a Christmas album, and James R. Thudpucker III to make an album of standards. Jimmy supports
file sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include ...
, and firmly believes that in the future artists will make a modest living by touring because the recording industry will collapse and all music will be free. He has released all of his own music on the internet, to be freely shared, emulating the real world practice of
Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...
(who has seen sales of her music radically rise after making her songs freely available on her website). Unfortunately in June 2014 he revealed that the "new model" of releasing his own music direct to his fans without a music label meant he was now living in his car. In January 2009, he branched out into recording and selling
ringtones A ringtone is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming telephone call. Originally referring to the sound of electromechanical striking of bells or gongs, the term refers to any sound by any device alerting of an incoming call. On p ...
. In February 2010, he visited Afghanistan with the USO show. On the return journey his helicopter was accidentally shot down by
Jeff Redfern The comic strip ''Doonesbury'', by Garry Trudeau, features an extensive cast of characters with complex interpersonal relationships; as of 2018, the strip's official website lists twenty-four primary characters, with dozens more having been feat ...
(who was on duty for the CIA). However, Jimmy and the other helicopter passengers survived unharmed. In August 2022 it was revealed that he was now in the business of recording hold music as the ringtone market had cooled.


Real world recordings

In a real-world crossover, Trudeau has twice arranged for Thudpucker's "music" to be recorded. James Allen Brewer, an actor ("Ryan and Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure"), producer ("Simply Sondheim – A 75th Birthday Salute"), and singer/songwriter co-wrote and sang, in character, on the single "Ginny's Song," released by Warner Bros. He also performed on the LP ''Jimmy Thudpucker's Greatest Hits'', released by Windsong Records, which featured songs from the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-nominated '' A Doonesbury Special'' (1977), which also won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The LP credits the composition of all but one song to "Jimmy Thudpucker". In reality, this was a collective pseudonym used by Brewer and other co-authors. "Take Your Life" is registered at BMI as being written by Brewer, Clifford Evens, David Foster and Garry Trudeau; "So Long" to Brewer and Foster; "You Can't Fight It" to Brewer, Trudeau and Laura Plotkin.


''Jimmy Thudpucker's Greatest Hits''


Track listing

All songs written by Jimmy Thudpucker, except where noted.


Personnel

* James Allen Brewer - lead vocals *
Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax R ...
– bass *
Dennis Parker Dennis Parker (born March 23, 1950) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of North Texas from 1991 to 1993 and at Texas Lutheran University from 2007 to 2009, compiling a career college football r ...
– bass *
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– drums *
Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...
– drums (on "Ginny's Song") *
Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Mini ...
– drums *
David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...
– keyboards *
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– organ, background vocals *
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– guitar *
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– guitar *
Steve Lukather Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...
– guitar *Dan Ferguson – guitar *Steve Forman – percussion *Leon Rubenholt – harmonica *
Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for ...
– alto saxophone *
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– saxophone (on "Ginny's Song") *Doug Atwell – viola *
Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical ab ...
, Trevor Lawrence, Steve Madaio, Quitman Dennis,
Don Menza Don Menza (born April 22, 1936) is an American jazz saxophonist. Career Menza was born in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, where he attended Grover Cleveland High School (Buffalo, New York), Grover Cleveland High School. After serving in the U.S. ...
– horns *Donny Gerrard, Brooks Hunnicutt, Lisa Roberts, Joyce King, Jana Lee Dare, Jeanne Anne Chapman, Renée Armand, Verna Richardson,
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, Ron Hickland, Stan Farber – background vocals


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thudpucker, Jimmy Doonesbury characters Fictional rock musicians Fictional rappers Comics characters introduced in 1978