A guitarist of note lost
On the tragic end of James Calvin Wilsey, who played the aching riff in `Wicked Game'
James Calvin Wilsey might not be a household name.
Yet, millions of music fans know his iconic guitar riff featured in the sultry Chris Isaak classic “Wicked Game.”
Wilsey was an important part of Isaak's Silvertone band for years, mightily contributing to the Northern California star's first four studio albums. Before that, he played bass for the Avengers, the highly influential, late-'70s punk-rock troupe that opened for the Sex Pistols at the U.K. act's legendary “final show” in 1978. He also released one remarkable solo album — 2008's “El Dorado.”
But the Wilsey story would turn tragic, as he became a heroin addict and went from appearing on “The Tonight Show” to living on the streets. He'd die homeless, suffering from organ failure, on Christmas Eve 2018.
His tale is movingly told in the new book “Wicked Game: The True Story of Guitarist James Calvin Wilsey,” by Michael Goldberg, a former West Coast music editor for Rolling Stone and the founder of the influential online music site Addicted to Noise.
I recently had the chance to interview Goldberg, who is donating 25% of his royalties from this book to Wilsey's teenage son Waylon. Goldberg says the best way to maximize the money going to Waylon (as well as to the author and the indie publisher) is to order the book directly through hozacrecords.com.
Q
The name James Calvin Wilsey might not be familiar with readers. But they have certainly heard his playing. Tell us about his involvement with “Wicked Game.”
A
Jimmy wrote and played the haunting electric guitar intro to “Wicked Game” and all the electric guitar parts in the song. Initially, Isaak didn't like the intro, according to Jimmy. Jimmy said Isaak had maybe a verse and the chorus and Jimmy came up with the intro and the guitar parts for it.
Warner Bros. didn't like the “Heart Shaped World” album it was on. They didn't hear any hits when they listened to the album. No one thought “Wicked Game” was a hit. But as Chris Isaak told me after the song was a hit in England and becoming one in the U.S., “In Jimmy's case, he's very responsible for that record being a hit.”
Q
What do you think it was about that song that made such an impact? It's definitely one of those that stops you dead in your tracks.
A
Well, first of all, that guitar intro is one of the greatest intros to a rock or pop song ever recorded. It is beautiful. The tone, the notes, the way he plays it. It's an incredible sound.
There's a whole lot of Jimmy's soul that went into that riff. In a sense, you can hear the sadness and sorrow and pain he experienced during his life in that riff. There is a reason that song is still super-popular and it's not just because of Chris Isaak — though Isaak's vocal is incredible.
Q
How much of an impact do you think that one song — and Wilsey's contributions — had on Isaak's career?
A
Chris Isaak might not have a career if not for Jimmy. Jimmy created the sound; Isaak wrote the songs and sang them. Until “Wicked Game,” Isaak's records had bombed in the U.S. They were great but they were not popular here. In early 1991, even as “Wicked Game” was moving up the charts, Isaak played to 300 people at New George's in San Rafael.
Q
That song must have made a ton of money. Yet, Wilsey died homeless. How did that happen?
A
Isaak was the writer. He got the songwriting money and half the publishing money. Jimmy got none of that. He got less than 20% of the money that came in from record sales. He spent it on drugs and guitars and other equipment. He ended up owing the IRS over $150,000 in back taxes because he didn't pay any taxes when the money came in. This was in the early to mid-'90s.
By the time he died over 20 years later, he wasn't getting much money from royalties and he wasn't working. By December 2018 when he died, he was addicted to drugs, he had a transplanted liver but wasn't taking the meds he needed to take for that, and he had no place to live; no one trusts a junkie.
Q
You interviewed a lot of people specifically for this book, but Isaak wasn't one of them. According to your book, he declined the interview requests. Did that surprise you?
A
Yeah, it did. He should have talked to me. But it wasn't necessary.
I had 10 hours of recorded interviews with him done between 1982 and 1995, plus one of his friends shared with me what Chris said to him after Jimmy died and Chris posted comments about Jimmy on Christmas Day, so it was OK.
Q
Of course, the Isaak stuff is only part of the musical equation. Tell me about Wilsey's days with the Avengers.
A
When Jimmy was a teenager still living in Florissant, Missouri,
outside St. Louis, he saw the Patti Smith Group on “Saturday Night Live” and that inspired him. He loved the music and felt he could be in a band like that. Up until then, he thought being in a band was unattainable. Bands like the Doobie Brothers or Jeff Beck — he thought he would never play that good. But the Patti Smith Group, he knew he could do that.
He moved to [San Francisco] in August 1976 to study art; four months later the punk scene began in SF when the Nuns played the Mabuhay Gardens, a restaurant that became ground zero for the SF punk scene. He started going to every punk show at the Mabuhay and in July 1977 he joined the Avengers, who had formed a month earlier. The Avengers quickly became one of the best punk groups in the U.S., and Jimmy and singer/lyricist Penelope Houston were the group's “sex symbols.” Jimmy became a star of the local punk scene.
Q
Despite James' problems, it seems like he still had a touching relationship with his son.
A
He loved Waylon so much. He really, really cared about him. But that's the thing about heroin. It gets its tentacles into the user and messes with their mind and their body. But I understand that Waylon is doing well. He's an excellent student. He'll be going to college.
Q
Why did you decide to give a portion of the sales from the book to Waylon?
A
Very early on, back in early 2019, I decided to give 25% of my royalties to Waylon. It just struck me that if I was going to write a book about his dad that I should give him a percentage of what I get. It just felt and feels like the right thing to do.
I didn't write this book to make money. If I wanted to make money from a book, I'd write one about Bob Dylan or some big star. That's not why I write. And actually, it's never been my motivation.
From high school days, I wanted to write about rock 'n' roll. That's what I wanted to spend my life doing. And I've been lucky and it worked out. I got paid to do the thing I most wanted to do.
It was always about writing the best story I could possibly write.