Jock Bartley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May 16, 1950
Jock Bartley | |
|---|---|
 Bartley performing in 2021 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | James Jock Bartley May 16, 1950 |
| Genres | Rock, country rock, soft rock |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Member of | Firefall |
| Formerly of | Zephyr |
James Jock Bartley[1] (born May 16, 1950) is an American musician. He is a founding and sole continuing member of the band Firefall, a group he formed in 1974.[2] Bartley has performed on stage with artists including Stephen Stills, Neil Young, The Doobie Brothers, Dan Fogelberg, Journey, Heart, Poco, Nicolette Larson, and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.[3]
James Bartley was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, and moved to Green Mountain Falls, Colorado in 1959, when he was eight years old.[2][4] He is better known by his middle name "Jock", which came from his grandfather, who was of Scottish and Irish ancestry.[1] He has a younger brother, Gregg, who used to work for Firefall, selling band merchandise.[5]
When Bartley was eight or nine,[6] his mother paid for him to get guitar lessons from Johnny Smith, and later learned how to play pieces by Duke Ellington and Johann Sebastian Bach, but he stopped taking lessons when "The Beatles came about" when he knew he "wanted to be in a rock band".[7][8] As a teenager, Bartley heard Eric Clapton's guitar solo on the Cream song "I Feel Free", and wanted to learn how to play guitar like that.[7]
He studied at University of Colorado Boulder in 1968 as an art major.[9][2]
Career
Music
Bartley played lead guitar in the Boulder, Colorado-based band Zephyr after the departure of guitarist Tommy Bolin.[3] He played on their third album, Sunset Ride, which was released shortly before they disbanded.
After Zephyr, Jock joined Gram Parsons' Fallen Angels tour, and appeared on the album, Live 1973 (later released by Sierra in 1982).[10][11]
While on tour with Parsons, Bartley met Rick Roberts. They soon formed Firefall with Mark Andes and Michael Clarke (and later David Muse).[3][12] The band had six US top 40s between 1976 and 1981, including "You Are the Woman", "Just Remember I Love You", and "Strange Way".
Firefall disbanded in 1981, however by summer 1982, Bartley reformed the band with a new lineup when "kind of realized (he) owned the name".[1] Roberts, Andes and Muse all returned at different points since, but as of 2022, Bartley is now the only original member still touring in Firefall.[13] Since 2008, his son, James Crow Bartley, has acted as a substitute drummer for live shows.
Bartley played guitar on Chris Hillman's 1977 album Clear Sailin' and in 1978, played guitar on the Andy Gibb single "Why", originally released on Gibb's Shadow Dancing album. Jock released his first solo album, Blindside, in 2006.[14]
Bartley frequently travels to Nashville, where he gives seminars for the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriter’s Guild of America.[12] He plays Paul Reed Smith and Takamine guitars.[12][15]
Art
He has painted since he was a child, but started making art as a second profession since 2001.[12] His paintings have been shown in exhibitions in Colorado and Nevada.[12] Paintings of The Beatles he made were featured in a 2006 Coffee table book "Beatles Art – Fantastic New Artwork of The Fab Four".[12][16]
Some of his art was also featured in included in the "Rockers For Kids" benefit for Denver Children’s Hospital, which also included art made by musicians including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Mellencamp, Jerry Garcia, David Bowie, Ronnie Wood, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, and illustrator Robert Crumb.[12]
Personal life
Bartley moved to Boulder, Colorado in the early 1970s, and lived there until 1993 when he moved to Westminster.[2]
Bartley is a spokesperson for Suicide Prevention and has worked with the American Association of Suicidology and the Kristin Brooks Hope Center.[3]
