James Gurley, the lead guitarist with Janis Joplin's Band, Big Brother & the Holding Company, died Sunday December 20th, 2009, two days before his 70th birthday. The band's album Cheap Thrills was named as one of Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was on this album that the hits Piece of My Heart, Summertime, Combination of the Two and Ball and Chain are found and Gurley is credited as a co-writer on the track Oh, Sweet Mary. Throughout the life of the band, James Gurley was an influential and virtuosic leader.
