BILLY JOEL : Get It Right The First Time (1977)

R.I.P. Hiram Bullock (Sep. 11, 1955 - Jul. 25, 2008)

From the NY times obit:

Hiram Bullock, a soulful and adaptable jazz and rock guitarist who wasa member of the original band for “Late Night with David Letterman,”died last Friday in Manhattan. He was 52. The cause is pending, said Jennifer Armstrong, his partner of 16years. Mr. Bullock was found to have cancer of the tongue last fall, she said.

Mr. Bullock played on some blockbuster pop albums, including “TheStranger” by Billy Joel, Steely Dan’s “Gaucho” and the soundtrack to“A Star is Born” by Barbra Streisand. His best-known solo was on the 1987 Sting album “Nothing Like the Sun,” in a version of JimiHendrix’s “Little Wing. But Mr. Bullock was always more than a session ace. He made his biggest impact in the realm of jazz-rock, funk and fusion, and his own albums, which often featured his singing and songwriting, never strayed far from that base. His last one, released on BHM in 2005, was“Too Funky 2 Ignore.”

He had substantial and productive relationships with other jazzmusicians, including the composer and arranger Gil Evans, who served as a kind of mentor, and the bassist Jaco Pastorius, who taught him and employed him in multiple bands.

Mr. Bullock was largely open about his struggle with substance abuse. “It’s not hard to spiral down,” he sang on a song called “After the Fall,” released in 2003.

More : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/arts/music/31bullock.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries

Here is a track from one of his first sessions, on Billy Joel's massively successful album "The Stranger". Surprisingly funky at times, with that juicy dated late-'70s feel to it, Bullock was on electric guitar on this one.

Song : "Get It Right The First Time" by Billy Joel
From the LP "THE STRANGER" (Columbia) Sep. 1977

LINEUP:
Billy Joel : piano, vocals
Doug Stegmeyer : bass
Liberty DeVitto : drums
Richie Cannata : flute
Hiram Bullock : electric guitar
Hugh McCracken : acoustic guitar
Ralph MacDonald : percussion

Get it here : Get It Right The First Time