James Calvin Wilsey

James Calvin Wilsey (July 12, 1957 – December 24, 2018) was an American musician. He played bass with San Francisco punk band the Avengers, but became better known as the lead guitarist for Chris Isaak's band Silvertone. He featured on Isaak's albums Silvertone, Chris Isaak, Heart Shaped World, and San Francisco Days, and is widely remembered for his distinctive guitar tone and technique, being dubbed the "King of Slow" by fans. Producer Erik Jacobsen remarked, "In terms of the feeling Jimmy was able to put into a song with the wang bar and the tremolo and effects — Jimmy had a really magical touch..." Wilsey's last commercial recording under his own name was in 2012, when he contributed a cover of Johnny Cash's "The Man Comes Around" to the soundtrack to the film Killing Them Softly. In 2017, he played guitar on Miss Derringer's cover of "Unchained Melody".

Personal life and death In the 1990s, Wilsey met fashion boutique owner and designer Winter Mullender. They married in 2003 and had a son. They divorced in 2008. Wilsey's health declined and in 2013 he developed hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver. His drug use reportedly continued during this time. He reconnected and temporarily cohabited with Mullender, but they were evicted in 2018 and became homeless. Wilsey was taken to LAC+USC Medical Center in December of that year with the onset of organ failure, and died on the afternoon of December 24.

Selected discography

Solo El Dorado (2008)

With the Avengers We Are the One EP (1977) Avengers EP (1979) Avengers (1983) Died for Your Sins (1999) Zero Hour (2003) The American in Me (2004) Live at Winterland 1978 (2010)

With Chris Isaak Silvertone (1985) Chris Isaak (1986) Heart Shaped World (1989) San Francisco Days (1993)