He was a blind pianist/keyboardist born Jacob Astor Spell in Sampson County, North Carolina.
He attended a school for the blind from the time he was 6 years old and had to remain in the dorm as he was too far away from home to commute. At the time one of his fellow students was his friend Ronnie Milsap and together they formed a band. He studied violin and piano there and later went on to attend the Oberlin Conservatory to concentrate on the piano. He didn’t stay there too long as he decided that he wanted to veer towards rock and roll and so returned home to North Carolina.
Becoming known, he soon was making it out in the world of music and has toured and recorded with many artists that include Judy Collins, Steve Cropper, Jose Feliciano, Eddie Floyd, Vern Gosdin, Tim Krekel, John Mayall, Poco, Jeannie C, Riley, Dan Seals, The Tams, Greg “Fingers” Taylor, Randy Travis, Conway Twitty and Tammy Wynette to name a few, as well as being a member of the group Tower of Power.
The countless albums he appeared on include Son of a Son of a Sailor by Jimmy Buffett, Christmas Album by Canned Heat, Cowgirl’s Prayer by Emmylou Harris,. His time with Jimmy Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band saw him touring with him during 1977 and 1978 and also making an appearance in the 1978 movie FM.
He suffered from oesophagal cancer and while receiving treatment several of his musician friends raised money by holding a fundraising concert.
He passed away in \December 2010.
Jimmy Buffett recordings
Cheeseburger in Paradise (Jimmy Buffet)
Sources:
- http://www.jayspell.com/
- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=280825150
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2809306/
- http://www.buffettnews.com/bandmember47.html
- http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Jay%20Spell:1927183502?sort=az
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3pfrxqygldke~T4