12 October 1942 – 16 May 2002

A decade ago......

Ten years ago we lost one the greatest musical talents ever to take the stage or enter a recording studio. Health issues would make 1982 the last year that he would play to packed venues as a member of the Robin Trower Band. Declining health over the next twenty years would eventually cause him to pass away on May 16th 2002.

His unmatched vocal talent, flawless bass playing and his ability to pen a rock anthem remain legendary among many of today's biggest stars. To say "they don't make 'em like that anymore" would only tell part of the story. Jimmy was a one-of-a-kind. None before, none since.

Fortunately, he left us with plenty of great music, lots of YouTube content (thanks to Stephen Redrobe and several other dilligent contributors) and three beautiful and charming daughters, Lisa, Wendy and Laura. The photo shown here is a family photo that was grainy and out of focus with lots of wear and tear from years of lying around the Dewar home. Despite these technical shortcomings there is no hiding the the beauty and love of a young James and Mattie Dewar shown here.

James Dewar (12 October 1942 – 16 May 2002)

Paisley in 2010

 

Yours truly with the beautiful and charming Lisa Dewar.

Looking back on 2010, I can honestly say that coolest thing I did was fly to Glasgow and spend some time with Jimmy's daughters Wendy, Laura and Lisa (and their extended families). It was great fun having a few drinks, swapping stories and feasting on a nice home-cooked meal at Laura's house in Paisley. Lisa and her fiance David were gracious hosts and I got a first rate tour of Glasgow before sitting down to a fantastic dinner at one of several great downtown restaurants. 

There is not really a lot that I can pass on from this experience other than these are all great folks and I am privileged to know them. Jimmy loved his family and it's easy to see why. CK

Signs of intelligent life......

Many of us in this tiny group of holdouts [who love great rock from the Trower era] wonder "aren't there any more of us?". No matter how strong your convictions for these musicians and their music, you would not be human if you did not feel like a scientists staring into space, wondering if there was intelligent life out there. In this case however, the great unknown is earth and the prognosis is bleak. In a sea of contrived, vocorder-laden, computer garbage, one can feel very alone with his/her precious Trower collection.

Like a scientists scouring space through a telescope, I search the Internet through Google, Bing, and any other web tool I can find, in hopes of discovering a photo, a story or a recording and it can be discouraging. Recently, when I was wondering if that is all there is, "Ian" posted a tip in the Guest Forum for me to check out www.britrockbythebay.com. What a tip it was.

Four guys named Michael Collins Morton, David Miller, Gary Hodges and Dan Curry have a blog-style website paying homage to their favorite '70s rock bands. Low and behold, there we find stories and photos of two different San Francisco concerts played by RTB at Winterland on November 3, 1973 and May 25, 1974 respectively. David, Dan, Gary and Michael reminisce and, do a pretty decent job of taking us back to that experience so many years ago. As enjoyable as their stories may be, the photos are the greatest treasure as they are previously unreleased shots of Jimmy (and maybe Robin although I have not inquired). The shots are mostly black and white with a few color shots and most are good resolution and nicely captured.

I urge anyone who loves '70s rock and especially the Robin Trower Band to visit this site. David has been kind enough to grant me permission to post his shots of Jimmy on this website and, just to wet your appetite, you will find one below.

Look for many more of David's photos to come but for now please enjoy this one and stop by "Brit Rock By The Bay"

I will post more Jimmy photos from David's archive as time allows. CK