McCulloch was born in
Dumbarton and raised in
Clydebank and
Cumbernauld, Scotland. The McCulloch family relocated to London when Jimmy was 13. He was inspired by
Django Reinhardt and began to play the guitar aged 11. He made his performance debut as the guitarist for the Jaygars, which was later known as
One in a Million. One in a Million performed live in support of The Who during their tour of Scotland in 1967. That year, One in a Million released their "Fredereek Hernando"/"Double Sight" single on MGM. The single is now highly collectable, and an expensive purchase, now classed as a classic and obscure UK psychedelic release.
Double Sight, a CD compilation of these and other songs written and recorded by the band, was released in 2009. Though the band was unbilled in the promotional posters for the event, McCulloch fronted One In A Million as they and countless other bands performed at the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream event at the London
Alexandra Palace in April 1967. That year, One in a Million also performed live at The Upper Cut and other London venues. McCulloch first rose to fame in 1969 when he joined Pete Townshend's friends, Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman (piano) and songwriter
John 'Speedy' Keen (vocals, drums), to form the band
Thunderclap Newman. The band enjoyed a UK No. 1 hit with "
Something in the Air" that year. Thunderclap Newman's album,
Hollywood Dream, on which the title instrumental, written by McCulloch and his brother, sold well but was not as successful as their hit single. (Reissues of the album include another McCulloch brothers song, "I See It All".) From January to mid-April 1971, the band toured England, Scotland, The Netherlands, and Scandinavia and disbanded shortly thereafter. In October 1971, McCulloch played guitar in concert with
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers in England, Scotland and Germany. On 31 October 1971 McCulloch's band Bent Frame made its performance debut in London. The band subsequently renamed itself the Jimmy McCulloch Band and toured England and Scotland in support of
Leslie West's
Mountain in February 1972. By then, McCulloch had done session work for
Klaus Voormann,
Harry Nilsson, Steve Ellis, John Entwistle, and others. In June 1972, McCulloch joined the blues rock band (and fellow Mayall-school alumni)
Stone the Crows to replace guitarist
Les Harvey, who had been
electrocuted on stage. McCulloch helped Stone the Crows to complete their
Ontinuous Performance album by playing on the tracks "Sunset Cowboy" and "Good Time Girl". Stone the Crows disbanded in June 1973. In 1973, McCulloch played guitar on John Keen's album,
Previous Convictions, had a brief stint in
Blue and played guitar on Brian Joseph Friel's debut album under the pseudonym 'The Phantom'.
Paul McCartney & Wings and after McCulloch first met Paul McCartney in August 1973, after the departure of
Henry McCullough from Wings. McCulloch joined Wings in May 1974. His debut track with them was "
Junior's Farm." McCulloch composed the music for the anti-drug song "Medicine Jar" on the album
Venus and Mars and the similar "Wino Junko" on
Wings at the Speed of Sound. He also sang both.
Colin Allen, who had been drummer for Stone the Crows, wrote lyrics for both songs. During his time with Wings, McCulloch formed White Line with his brother Jack on drums and
Dave Clarke on bass, keyboards, and vocals. They played several impromptu gigs and released a single, "Call My Name"/"Too Many Miles". A 13-track album,
White Line – Complete, was released in 1994 on Clarke's Mouse Records. Jimmy McCulloch and White Line appeared on the British television programme
Supersonic on 27 November 1976. In addition, McCulloch recorded and produced two unreleased songs by the Khyber Trifles and had occasionally performed live (in London and their native Glasgow) with the band. Finally, as noted above, he played guitar on Roy Harper's album
Bullinamingvase and Ricci Martin's album
Beached, in 1977. McCulloch's
alcoholism periodically became a problem while Wings was recording in the studio or performing on tour. McCulloch was arrested for reckless driving during Wings' 1974 stay near
Nashville, Tennessee. On 26 March 1976 at the Paris Hotel George V, David Cassidy blocked a punch that the even more drunk McCulloch was about to deliver, which led McCulloch to fall and break his pinky. Perhaps due to contractual or insurance reasons, McCulloch falsely attributed his broken pinky to a fall on a wet bathroom floor. The onset of the Wings Over America tour was consequently and expensively delayed by three weeks as the pinky recovered. McCulloch was thrown out of Wings by McCartney in August 1977, during the recording sessions for "
Mull of Kintyre", allegedly for a drunken rage at the McCartneys' Scottish farm estate that included McCulloch smashing chicken eggs produced by Linda McCartney's pet hens. In September 1977, McCulloch joined the reformed
Small Faces during the latter band's nine date tour of England that month. He played guitar on the Small Faces' album,
78 in the Shade. In early 1978, McCulloch started a band called
Wild Horses with
Brian Robertson,
Jimmy Bain and
Kenney Jones, but both McCulloch and Jones left the band soon afterward. In 1979, McCulloch joined
the Dukes. His last recorded song, "Heartbreaker", appeared on their only album,
The Dukes. In 2021, an episode of
BBC's
The Repair Shop featured two platinum discs for
Wings at the Speed of Sound and
Wings over America, presented to McCulloch for his work with Wings, which were taken for restoration by his cousin. In the same year, a biography on Jimmy’s life and career,
Little Wing: The Jimmy McCulloch Story, was published as well. ==Death==