{{Short description|American musician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2014}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Russell DaShiell | image = | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = DaShiell at Knebworth in 1976 | birth_name = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|07|23}} | birth_place = Philadelphia, United States | origin = Hawaii, Florida, California | death_date = <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date 1st) --> | death_place = | genre = Pop, rock | occupation = Musician, composer, producer | instrument = Guitar, bass, keyboards | years_active = 1963–present | label = Paramount, ABC Dunhill, Epic, Sonet, Aerial View | associated_acts = Crowfoot, Harvey Mandel, Norman Greenbaum, Don Harrison Band, I Spy, Mesenger | website = {{URL|www.spiritguitar.com}} }} '''Russell DaShiell''' (born July 23, 1947) is an American guitarist who has recorded as a solo artist as well as playing in bands such as Crowfoot and the Don Harrison Band, and with Harvey Mandel, Phil Everly and Norman Greenbaum. Russell was also one of the first people to have a Les Paul humbucker bridge pickup in a strat in 1970.
==Career== Born in Philadelphia, DaShiell lived on Oahu, Hawaii between the ages of three and fifteen, taking up guitar at the age of fourteen.<ref name="Ruhlmann">Ruhlmann, William "[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/russell-dashiell-mn0001747806 Russell DaShiell Biography]", Allmusic. Retrieved June 29, 2013</ref> He moved with his parents to Florida in 1963, where he formed a band that played cover songs in the local beach clubs. He then joined Doug Killmer's band The Sonics, which after the addition of drummer Rick Jaeger became The Beau Gentry in 1965.<ref name="Accardi">Accardi, Joseph J. (2008) ''Beloit's Club Pop House'', Arcadia Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0738552095}}, p. 96</ref> The Beau Gentry spent the next year in Florida developing a following, and in 1966 they were booked for a summer tour of Wisconsin by Ken Adamany (who would later manage Cheap Trick). The tour went so well they decided to stay in the area. After two years of gigging in the midwest, the band evolved into Crowfoot and relocated to San Francisco in December, 1968.<ref name="Ruhlmann" />
With Crowfoot struggling to make ends meet, DaShiell began working as a session guitarist in the S.F. Bay area, playing on A.B. Skhy's 1969 debut album, and going on to play in Harvey Mandel's band with Rick Jaeger.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /> He also played on Norman Greenbaum's ''Spirit in the Sky'' album, with Doug Killmer on bass, which included the chart-topping title track. He then toured with Greenbaum and played on his next two albums.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /> His success prompted him to revive Crowfoot, securing a record deal with Paramount Records, although the band's self-titled 1970 album was largely a DaShiell solo effort, as was its 1971 follow-up ''Find the Sun'' on ABC Dunhill.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /><ref name="BB">"[https://books.google.com/books?id=nSkEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22russell+dashiell%22&pg=PA64 Album Reviews: Special Merit Picks]", ''Billboard'', September 26, 1970, p. 64. Retrieved June 29, 2013</ref><ref name="BB2">"[https://books.google.com/books?id=xggEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22russell+dashiell%22&pg=PA48 Album Reviews: Crowfoot – Find the Sun]", ''Billboard'', October 2, 1971, p. 48. Retrieved June 29, 2013</ref>
DaShiell relocated to Hollywood in the early 1970s and continued his session work, recording with artists such as Phil Everly, Danny O'Keefe, Bo Diddley, John Sebastian, and former Creedence Clearwater Revival member Tom Fogerty, recording his album ''Myopia'' with Stu Cook and Doug Clifford, also former Creedence members.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /> He went on to work with Cook and Clifford on solo material and joined them in the Don Harrison Band, recording two albums for Atlantic Records in 1976 and opening for the Rolling Stones at Knebworth that year.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /><ref name="Whitburn">Whitburn, Joel (2009) ''Music Stars'', Record Research Inc., {{ISBN|978-0898201765}}, p. 112</ref><ref name="Lewis">Lewis, Barbara (1976) "[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19760628&id=ZYksAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2PoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6332,8264651 Don Harrison Band Has Hit Single]", ''Lakeland Ledger'', June 28, 1976, p. 2D. Retrieved June 29, 2013</ref>
DaShiell finally released solo material after signing with Epic Records. The ''Elevator'' album, featuring his collaborations with Cook and Clifford, was released in 1978.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /><ref name="Salloum">Salloum, Rod (1978) "[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=65VjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=a3oNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5754,4975995&dq=russell-dashiell&hl=en Russel DaShiell, Elevator, Epic]", ''Star Phoenix'', April 15, 1978, p. 8 (Accent section). Retrieved June 29, 2013</ref>
Although his solo career was initially short-lived, he continued to work on various projects, including a single and album with new band 'I Spy' in the 1980s with Doug Clifford on drums, signing with Sonet in Sweden.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /><ref name="Dupler">Dupler, Steven (1985) "[https://books.google.com/books?id=riQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22russell+dashiell%22&pg=PT11 Audio Track]", ''Billboard'', March 9, 1985, p. 43. Retrieved June 29, 2013</ref> He also worked on a solo album by Doug Clifford.<ref name="Dupler" /> By the end of the 1980s he had moved into television soundtrack and editing work, notably on ''In Living Color''.<ref name="Ruhlmann" />
In the early 1990s he and his former Crowfoot bandmates Doug Killmer and Rick Jaeger were reunited to record the EP ''Mesenger'' in 1994.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /> In the late 1990s DaShiell moved to Lake Tahoe and composed for advertising while continuing to record solo material. In 2000 he moved to Maui, writing and recording the album ''Island Life'', which he is currently updating for a 2024 release via his website spiritguitar.com.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /> He’s also been developing a project called ''Foreverland Forest'', initially intended as a children’s book with music, expanded to be an animated film featuring 10 original songs from his upcoming solo album ''Foreverland''.
==Discography==
===Albums=== *''Crowfoot'' (1970), Paramount *''Find the Sun'' (1971), ABC Dunhill *''Elevator'' (1978), Epic *''Island Life'' (2024), Aerial View *''Foreverland'' (2024), Aerial View
===Singles, EPs=== *''In the Fire'' (1978), Epic *''Fool For Your Love'' (1984), Sonet *''Mesenger'' (1994), Aerial View
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *[http://www.spiritguitar.com/ spiritguitar.com]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dashiell, Russell}} Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:American rock guitarists Category:American male guitarists Category:Guitarists from Philadelphia Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:20th-century American male musicians