Douglas Killmer
Encyclopedia
Douglas "Doug" Killmer (July 18, 1947 – August 29, 2005) was an American
blues
and rock
bass guitar
ist active from the 1960s to the late 1990s. He is sometimes credited as Douglas Kilmer or Doug Kilmer. He is best remembered for playing the bass line on Norman Greenbaum
's 1970 hit "Spirit in the Sky
" (number 333 on Rolling Stone
's list of 500 greatest songs of all time). In addition to this, he played on the Otis Rush
Grammy Award
-nominated 1976 song "Right Place, Wrong Time," and Rita Abrams
' Grammy Award winning song "Mill Valley." He was active in the San Francisco Bay Area
music scene for over three decades.
where his father was stationed as part of the American occupation force. After his father left the military the family moved to India and Turkey as part of his father's job in the United States Foreign Service. During his early travels he learned to speak Japanese, Hindustani, and German.
As a teenager he lived in Indialantic, Florida
so that his father could pursue a career with NASA
. He attended Melbourne High School
in Melbourne
, Florida where he was known as "Chico" by his closest friends. It was during this period that he learned to play the Guitar and Bass. He played in a number of local bands in Indialantic during this period, such as his band "The Sonics".
At the age of 17 he and high school friends Russell Dashiell, Rick Jaeger, and Lance Massey formed the band "The Beau Gentry". They eventually relocated to the Midwest where the Beau Gentry experienced moderate success performing in Wisconsin
.
where he played with a number of bands including Crowfoot
that featured his Beau Gentry band-mates. He eventually settled in Novato
, California with his wife and children. In 1970 he played the bass line on Norman Greenbaum's hit "Spirit in the Sky" which sold over a million copies and was certified gold. Shortly after this he appeared on American Bandstand
with Greenbaums group where they performed Spirit in the Sky. He also played with such notables as Blue Cheer
, Commander Cody
, Nick Gravenites
, Michael Bloomfield
, David LaFlamme, Linda Tillery & The Loading Zone, The Stoval Sisters, Jesse Barish, Booker T. Jones
, Luther Tucker, Charlie Musselwhite, Barry "The Fish" Melton, John Cipollina
, Carla Thomas, Pete Escovedo & Azteca, Tommy Roe, The FG's, Mark Naftalin, The Dovells, Dee Clark, Redwing, and Curly Cooke's Hurdy Gurdy Band.
In 1997, Killmer got pneumonia
which landed him in the hospital for several months and nearly took his life. During this time his friends in the music industry organized two benefits, one at the Sweetwater Saloon
in Mill Valley, California
and the other at Maritime Hall
in San Francisco, California in order to raise money for his wife and three young children. After beating pneumonia he was no longer able to afford the high cost of living in Novato, California so he decided to move his family north.
During the late-1990s he moved with his wife and three children to Mendocino County, California
. In Mendocino County he moved his family to Brooktrails
just outside of Willits, California
. After living there for 18 months he again moved his family, this time to a remote 600 acres (2.4 km²) cattle ranch between Willits, California and Laytonville, California
. During this period he continued to perform in Occidental, California
at Negri's Bar every Friday night with Nick Gravenites.
He died on August 29, 2005 at his home surrounded by his family, after a long battle with liver cancer
. His life was celebrated by his fellow San Francisco Bay Area musicians at a fund-raiser memorial for his family in Mill Valley, California at the Sweetwater Saloon.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist active from the 1960s to the late 1990s. He is sometimes credited as Douglas Kilmer or Doug Kilmer. He is best remembered for playing the bass line on Norman Greenbaum
Norman Greenbaum
Norman Greenbaum is an American singer-songwriter. He was raised in a traditional Jewish household and went to Hebrew school. His initial interest in music was sparked by Southern blues music and the folk music that was hugely popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
's 1970 hit "Spirit in the Sky
Spirit in the Sky
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song written and originally recorded by Norman Greenbaum and released in 1969. The single sold two million copies in 1969 and 1970 and reached number three in the U.S. Billboard chart, as well as number one on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970. Rolling Stone...
" (number 333 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
's list of 500 greatest songs of all time). In addition to this, he played on the Otis Rush
Otis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-nominated 1976 song "Right Place, Wrong Time," and Rita Abrams
Rita Abrams
Rita Abrams is an American songwriter, performer and writer. Her song "Mill Valley", recorded with children at the school where she was teaching, was released under the name Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point Third Grade Class in 1970, becoming a Billboard Hot 100 hit and being nominated for a...
' Grammy Award winning song "Mill Valley." He was active in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
music scene for over three decades.
Early years
He was born in Chicago, Illinois. Shortly after his birth his family moved to Okinawa in the Ryukyu IslandsRyukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
where his father was stationed as part of the American occupation force. After his father left the military the family moved to India and Turkey as part of his father's job in the United States Foreign Service. During his early travels he learned to speak Japanese, Hindustani, and German.
As a teenager he lived in Indialantic, Florida
Indialantic, Florida
Indialantic is a town in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The name is a portmanteau derived from the town's location between the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean....
so that his father could pursue a career with NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. He attended Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School is a selective entry state school for boys in years 9 to 12 located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra. Being a selective school, it is known mainly for its strong academic reputation...
in Melbourne
Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...
, Florida where he was known as "Chico" by his closest friends. It was during this period that he learned to play the Guitar and Bass. He played in a number of local bands in Indialantic during this period, such as his band "The Sonics".
At the age of 17 he and high school friends Russell Dashiell, Rick Jaeger, and Lance Massey formed the band "The Beau Gentry". They eventually relocated to the Midwest where the Beau Gentry experienced moderate success performing in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
1970s to 1990s
After the dissolution of the Beau Gentry, Killmer traveled to CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where he played with a number of bands including Crowfoot
Crowfoot (band)
Crowfoot was an American rock trio. The original line-up featured Russell DaShiell, Doug Killmer and Rick Jaeger.-History:The rock trio Crowfoot was an American band featuring Russell DaShiell on guitar and vocals, Doug Killmer on bass and vocals and Rick Jaeger on drums...
that featured his Beau Gentry band-mates. He eventually settled in Novato
Novato, California
Novato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. Novato is located about north-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 30 feet above sea level . The 2010 U.S. Census estimated the city population to be about 51,904. Novato is about ...
, California with his wife and children. In 1970 he played the bass line on Norman Greenbaum's hit "Spirit in the Sky" which sold over a million copies and was certified gold. Shortly after this he appeared on American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
with Greenbaums group where they performed Spirit in the Sky. He also played with such notables as Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
, Commander Cody
Commander Cody
Commander Cody may refer to:*The stage name of George Frayne, leader of the rock and roll band Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, and, informally, the band itself...
, Nick Gravenites
Nick Gravenites
Nicholas George Gravenites , with stage names like Nick "The Greek" Gravenites and Gravy, is a blues, rock and folk singer–songwriter, and is best known for his work with Janis Joplin, Mike Bloomfield and several influential bands and names of the generation springing from the 1960s and 1970s...
, Michael Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
, David LaFlamme, Linda Tillery & The Loading Zone, The Stoval Sisters, Jesse Barish, Booker T. Jones
Booker T. Jones
Booker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...
, Luther Tucker, Charlie Musselwhite, Barry "The Fish" Melton, John Cipollina
John Cipollina
John Cipollina was a guitarist best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service...
, Carla Thomas, Pete Escovedo & Azteca, Tommy Roe, The FG's, Mark Naftalin, The Dovells, Dee Clark, Redwing, and Curly Cooke's Hurdy Gurdy Band.
In 1997, Killmer got pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
which landed him in the hospital for several months and nearly took his life. During this time his friends in the music industry organized two benefits, one at the Sweetwater Saloon
Sweetwater Saloon
Located in Mill Valley, California, Sweetwater was a bar/tavern with a 30 year history of live musical performances by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Jerry Garcia, The String Cheese Incident, John Lee Hooker, Carlos Santana, plus many others. There were typically at least 4 to 5...
in Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay...
and the other at Maritime Hall
Maritime Hall
The Maritime Hall is a historic 3,000 capacity concert hall in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood that operated from 1995 through 2001 as a popular music venue and nightclub...
in San Francisco, California in order to raise money for his wife and three young children. After beating pneumonia he was no longer able to afford the high cost of living in Novato, California so he decided to move his family north.
During the late-1990s he moved with his wife and three children to Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...
. In Mendocino County he moved his family to Brooktrails
Brooktrails, California
Brooktrails is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California. The Fire Department and golf course lie at an elevation of 1634 feet , but its western edge rises to nearly 3000'. The population was 3,235 at the 2010 census...
just outside of Willits, California
Willits, California
Willits is a city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Willits is located north-northwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 1391 feet . The population was 4,888 at the 2010 census, down from 5,073 at the 2000 census. Willits is at the center of Mendocino County and its redwood forests...
. After living there for 18 months he again moved his family, this time to a remote 600 acres (2.4 km²) cattle ranch between Willits, California and Laytonville, California
Laytonville, California
Laytonville is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. Laytonville, is located north-northwest of Willits, at an elevation of 1670 feet...
. During this period he continued to perform in Occidental, California
Occidental, California
Occidental is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,115 at the 2010 census, down from 1,272 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Occidental is located at...
at Negri's Bar every Friday night with Nick Gravenites.
Later years
Killmer stopped performing regularly in 2000 in order to spend time with his family and help raise his young children. During this period he performed irregularly and spent most of his time taking care of his children and performing duties on the ranch. He also became active in his children's school, Sherwood School, in the mountains north of Willits, California. He served as president of F.O.S.S.I, Friends of Sherwood School Incorporated, during this period.He died on August 29, 2005 at his home surrounded by his family, after a long battle with liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
. His life was celebrated by his fellow San Francisco Bay Area musicians at a fund-raiser memorial for his family in Mill Valley, California at the Sweetwater Saloon.
External links
- Sweetwater Saloon information page on the Doug Killmer Fundraiser
- Information on the Beau Gentry
- Vintage Guitar Magazine with a short piece on Killmer's Bass
- John Cipollina and Doug Killmer Pictured together
- San Francisco Chronicle article on Killmer's 1997 Benefit
- San Francisco Chronicle article featuring Killmer from 1997
- San Francisco Chronicle article about the 30th Anniversary of the Summer of Love featuring Killmer