In remembrance of Jimmy Bain(1947-2016) - Rainbow and Dio bassist

Jimmy Bain (Metal Archives: December 19, 1947 - January 24, 2016) (Wikpipedia: December 19, 1947 – January 23, 2016)

James Stewart Bain was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo albums. Jimmy Bain, for many heavy metal fans, is known for his time with Rainbow and Dio, and for the making of several legendary albums. According to Metal Archives, he played bass on Rainbow's excellent album Rising (1976) and Dio's famous 1980s albums Holy Diver (1983), The Last in Line (1984), Sacred Heart (1985), and Dream Evil (1987), in addition to other Dio albums. Metal Archives shows that he played bass with a whole bunch of other musicians, projects, and groups.

Bain was asked to join Rainbow after Ritchie Blackmore had watched him performing at The Marquee in London. He recorded the studio album Rising with them and played on their following world tour. While on the tour, he played on Rainbow's first live album, On Stage.

In 1978, Bain formed a band called Wild Horses. Jimmy was the lead vocalist, songwriter, as well as bassist for the band, which also included ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson, drummer Clive Edwards, and guitarist Neil Carter. Wild Horses released two albums on EMI in Europe, Wild Horses (1980) and Stand Your Ground (1981), the latter featuring John Lockton in place of Carter, before Robertson and Edwards both left in June 1981. Robertson joined Motörhead the following year while Edwards joined former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden's S.O.S. Bain regrouped Wild Horses as a five-piece with ex-Lautrec members Reuben Archer and Laurence Archer, and The Next Band's Frank Noon, but they disbanded shortly after. Jimmy then worked with the former Family mainman Roger Chapman, Roy Harper, Gary Moore, and Kate Bush (on 1982's The Dreaming).

Bain worked with Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott for his two solo albums. A keyboard player as well as a bassist, he toured the material playing keyboards with Lynott's band. Their song, "Old Town," was re-recorded by The Corrs in 1999 and became a big hit worldwide.

He was secretly brought in by the German hard rockers Scorpions to play bass guitar on their 1984 album Love at First Sting. Guitarist Rudolf Schenker wanted him to join the Scorpions as full-time bassist, but their management wanted to keep the lineup German, so Francis Buchholz was brought back and Bain's bass tracks were said to be deleted.

In 1982, Bain linked up again with ex-Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio for the band Dio. A central figure within Dio, Bain co-wrote "Rainbow in the Dark," "Holy Diver," and two additional songs which appear on their 1983 released first album, Holy Diver. Bain co-wrote several other songs for the following albums: The Last in Line (1984), Sacred Heart (1985), Intermission (1986), Dream Evil (1987), and Killing the Dragon (2002).

In autumn 1989, Bain left Dio during the recording of Lock Up the Wolves (an album he does not appear on) and formed a band with vocalist Mandy Lion called World War III. Bain's solo project, The Key, utilized a far more melodic and commercial approach. The guitarist on the project was Tracy G, borrowed from Dio's band, who was also the guitarist for World War III. Ronnie James Dio's concept project Magica (2000) saw Bain's return to the Dio lineup, and he played on the albums Magica and Killing the Dragon.

On 23 January 2016, Jimmy Bain died while in his cabin on Def Leppard's "Hysteria on the High Seas" cruise. He was due to perform on the cruise with his group Last In Line the following day. The performance did not go ahead, and band members informed fans on the cruise that he had been battling pneumonia for some time. The cause of death was determined to be lung cancer. Bain had not been diagnosed with cancer and was aware only of his pneumonia. He is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), not far from his bandmate Ronnie James Dio. (Information from Metal Archives, Blabbermouth and Wikipedia.)

I enjoy Jimmy Bain's big bass lines on this Dio song.

Dio - When a Woman Cries (2016 Remaster)