Biography

Big Jim Sullivan was born on February 14, 1941 in Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for In Concert (1970), Shang-a-Lang (1975) and Colour My Soul (1973). He was married to Norma. He died on October 2, 2012 in Surrey, England, UK.

He backed Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent on the 1960 tour during which Cochran died. He gave guitar lessons to a young Ritchie Blackmore, who went on to form Deep Purple.

He started playing the guitar when he was 14 and turned pro at 16.

He was one of the most sought-after session guitarists of the 1960s and 70s. He was said to have played on more than 1,000 hit songs, including 55 number-one singles. His credits include Petula Clark's "Downtown", "What's New, Pussycat" by Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, "Ferry Cross the Mersey" by Gerry and the Pacemakers, and "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan.

He played a role in several key developments in rock music, including pioneering the use of the wah-wah, fuzzbox and the talkbox. His seminal use of the guitar wah-wah effect was first showcased in the 1964 UK top ten hit "The Crying Game" as sung by Dave Berry, the recording of which was later used on the soundtrack of the film The Crying Game (1992).