Douglas Killmer
| Douglas Killmer | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Douglas Killmer |
| Also known as | Chico |
| Born |
July 18, 1947 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | August 29, 2005 (aged 58) Willits, California, United States |
| Genres | Rock and roll, blues, blues-rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Bass guitar |
| Years active | 1963–2000 |
| Associated acts | Thunder and Lightning Nick Gravenites Michael Bloomfield Booker T. Jones Norman Greenbaum Crowfoot |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender '63 Jazz Bass | |
Douglas "Doug" Killmer (July 18, 1947 – August 29, 2005) was an American blues and rock bass guitarist 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.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands 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.
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