MERIDIAN, Miss. — John Christopher "Chris" Ethridge II, a Mississippi-born musician, bassist and songwriter who was a founding member of the 1960s country-rock band "The Flying Burrito Brothers," has died. He was 65.
Officials with Robert Barham Family Funeral Home said Tuesday that Ethridge died Monday at Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian. The family said in a statement that Ethridge had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September.
Born and raised in Meridian, Ethridge moved to Los Angeles when he was 17.
Ethridge collaborated with another seminal Southern music figure, Gram Parsons, on several projects, including the Flying Burrito Brothers and the International Submarine Band, and he co-wrote several of Parsons' solo tunes.
Ethridge spent eight years on the road with Willie Nelson and can be heard on the country legend's "Whiskey River."
Nelson wrote in a tweet Monday, "(Willie Nelson and Friends) are sad to hear of the passing of Family member & friend Chris Ethridge he was a talented musician & we were honored to call him Family."
With Joel Scott Hill and John Barbata, Ethridge recorded in the L.A. Getaway, which many rock critics hail as one of the great, lost 1970s rock albums.
In later years, Ethridge played with many music luminaries, including Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and Ry Cooder, both as a session musician and touring player.
Services will be held Wednesday in Meridian.
Sad to hear.....his bass lines are all over the 70's and 80's alt-country-rock scene, and he was liked and respected in both LA and Nashville musical circles.
R.I.P.
On a side note, local radio DJ Pete Fornatale (WFUV-FM, also formerly with WNEW-FM)
is apparently gravely ill, according to his website and the FUV website. Details are not available right now.
Our thoughts are with him.
He played bass on parts of post Jim Morrison Doors album Full Circle.
I am amazed to see this here!! I grew up with Chris Etheridge in Meridian. He was a good friend and I will miss him.
There are a lot of musicians from Meridian and Meridian is the home of Hartly Peavey's Peavey Electronics, makers of the best amps and speakers you can get. It's the home of Jimmy Rodgers, Chris Etheridge,Paul Davis and George Soule, just to name a few.
Sicilian, sad to hear about Pete. I was 18 in 1968 listening to him and all the other jocks on WNEW-FM. I really miss that station and its personalities and especially the music. That was the true "underground rock' station.
I saw the Flying Burritos at the Capital Theater in Passaic (Robert Hill's old haunts)in 1972-73 along with Riders of the Purple sage. Quite a show.
It's all a memory now.
cptdent
We in the northeast are not as urban as you might imagine. Great music is great music no matter what the source.
RIP Chris!
> I am amazed to see this here!! I grew up with Chris Etheridge in Meridian. He was a good friend and I will miss him.
> There are a lot of musicians from Meridian and Meridian is the home of Hartly Peavey's Peavey Electronics, makers of the best amps and speakers you can get. It's the home of Jimmy Rodgers, Chris Etheridge,Paul Davis and George Soule, just to name a few.
I forgot about Paul Davis being from there. I love his music, "I Go Crazy"....RIP.
If you want more good Meridian Music, try this one out:
http://www.amazon.com/Let-Me-Be-A-Man/dp/B004TXY8JS/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1335456733&sr=1-1
This is a group from the '60's called "The Six Soul Survivors". Paul Davis's initial band.
From left to right.....................
Paul Davis........keyboard
Wesley Atkinson...Sax
W. L. Landrum.....Trumpet
Frank Morris......Guitar
Danny Kittrell....Drums
Davis Gibson......Bass
The ones still with us play at our highh school reunions. It's like the bumper sticker I saw, "I may be old, but I got to see all the cool bands!".
(Interesting side note: Frank's guitar is a copy of a Gibson and one of the early instruments made by Peavey Electronics. Hooked tp a Peavey amp and speaker system, it roared!!)