Jim Price was a session musician who emerged to stardom at the start of the 1970s, in the company of such players as
Bobby Keys,
Bobby Whitlock,
Leon Russell, and
Carl Radle, playing on records and on tour with
George Harrison,
the Rolling Stones,
Eric Clapton,
Barbra Streisand, and
Joe Cocker.
Price was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and first emerged from the ranks of session musicians in Los Angeles as a trumpet and trombone player. His earliest credited appearance was on
Accept No Substitute (1969), by
Delaney & Bonnie. Along with the rest of the band on that album and the tour that followed, which had been organized by
Leon Russell,
Price was grabbed up by
Clapton (who had played with the group) for his self-titled solo album, by
Joe Cocker for
Mad Dogs & Englishmen, and
George Harrison for
All Things Must Pass (all 1970). He also toured with
the Rolling Stones and played on
Sticky Fingers (1971) and
Exile on Main St. (1972) -- in between all of those projects, he worked in an appearance on the
Streisand album
Barbra Joan Streisand (1971). This was the period in which the LP supplanted the single as the dominant medium in music, and musician credits became extremely prominent --
Price, along with many of his fellow players, became nearly as familiar to the fans of
the Rolling Stones et. al as the featured artists themselves were. From projects like that, the sky was the limit, and
Price went on to play with some of the top talent in the world, adding saxophone, keyboards, and vocals to his credits along the way, as well as taking the role of producer on occasion. During the '80s, however, he moved his career into film and television (including commercials), as a composer. His name still counts for a lot to listeners of a certain age, especially those who came of age listening to records like
All Things Must Pass,
Mad Dogs & Englishmen,
Sticky Fingers, and
Exile on Main St.. ~ Bruce Eder