Jim Seals

Jim Seals
Born
James Eugene Seals

October 17, 1942
Sidney, Texas, US
DiedJune 6, 2022(2022-06-06) (aged 79)
Nashville, Tennessee, US
SpouseRuby Jean Anderson (1970–)
Children3
RelativesEngland Dan (brother), Brady and Troy Seals (cousins)
Musical career
GenresFolk, rock and roll
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, saxophone
Years active1957–2017
Formerly ofThe Champs, Seals and Crofts

James Eugene "Jim" Seals[1] (October 17, 1942[2][a] — June 6, 2022) was an American folk musician. He was one half of the folk duo Seals and Crofts with Dash Crofts and was the older brother of Danny "England Dan" Seals.

Seals was a multi-instrumenalist, playing the fiddle as a child before playing saxophone in bands throughout his teenage years, where he eventually met Dash Crofts, then a drummer. The two formed soft rock duo Seals and Crofts, in which both members sang and played the guitar and mandolin among other instruments; they would go on to record hits such as "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl". Seals died in 2022.

Early life

Seals was born in Sidney, Texas to pipe-fitter Wayland Seals and Susan Taylor Seals, he grew up in Iraan.[1][5] His father was also a guitar player who encouraged Jim to play the guitar.[1] Jim's older brother, Eddie, was born in 1937 to Wayland and his former partner Clodell who died in 1940.[5] Seals recalled that he grew up surrounded by oil rigs and smoke covered the air, "the stench was so bad, you couldn't breathe".[2]

He learned how to play the Fiddle at age 5 or 6 after seeing a travelling fiddler, which led to his father ordering him the instrument soon after.[6]

Career

Seals quickly learned how to master the fiddle and at age ten years would go on to win a contest in west Texas in 1952 playing the fiddle with his father accompanying him on guitar and his younger brother Dan on upright bass.[6]

He also learned how to play the saxophone and formed The Seals Family Band with Dan.[1] In high school he played the sax in Dean Beard & the Crew Cats where he met Darrell "Dash" Crofts who joined the band on drums.[1] After graduating they moved to California and joined The Champs who had just released the song "Tequila" in 1958.[1] The two remained in the band until its disbanding in 1965.[6] The two then worked in The Dawnbreakers with Champs Glen Campbell.[7] From 1958 to 1965 Seals released five singles as "Jimmy Seals"; his first single in 1958 was released under "Jimmy Seals And His Sax".

Jim and Dash would go on to write songs for artists such as The Monkees and Gene Vincent before working as a recording duo in the 1970s as Seals and Crofts.[1] The duo were best known for their songs "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl" and released five gold certified studio albums from 1972 to 1976.[6][8] The duo parted ways in 1980, Seals and his family moved to Costa Rica and lived on a coffee farm.[1] Seals and his younger brother Dan, who eventually made a name for himself as England Dan, toured as a duo called "Seals & Seals".[1][9] Seals and Crofts reunited in the 90s and in 2004.[10][11][12]

Personal life and death

Seals married Ruby Jean Anderson in 1970; Seals and Crofts wrote "Ruby Jean and Billie Lee" for their wives.[1] They had three children Juliette (now Juliette Crossley)[2], Joshua and Sutherland.[1] Seals moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he spent the rest of his life. He suffered a stroke in 2017 and retired from performing.[6][13][14]

His younger brother was singer Danny "England Dan" Seals who was one half of the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley with John Ford Coley; Dan died in 2009. Seals' cousins are Brady Seals and Troy Seals; Brady is a country singer and former vocalist for Little Texas and Hot Apple Pie, Troy was a singer-songwriter who died in 2025.[15]

Seals died at his home in Nashville on June 6, 2022 aged 79.[6][11] He died from an unspecified chronic illness.[8][2]

Solo discography

Unless noted, all were released under "Jimmy Seals".

  • "Biscayne Bay / Juarez" — Winston label — released as "Jimmy Seals And His Sax" — 1958
  • "Wish For You, Want For You, Wait For You / Runaway Heart" — Challenge label — 1962
  • "Lady Heartbreak / Grounded" — Challenge label — 1963
  • "Everybody's Doing The Jerk / Wa-Hoo" — Challenge label — 1964
  • "The Yesterday Of Our Love / She's Not A Bad Girl" — Challenge label — 1965

Notes

  1. ^ While some sources[3][4] have said that Seals was born on October 17, 1941, public records of his birth list him as being born in 1942.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sweeting, Adam (2022-06-10). "Jim Seals obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  2. ^ a b c d Genzlinger, Neil (2022-06-07). "Jim Seals, Half of a Popular 1970s Soft-Rock Duo, Dies at 79". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  3. ^ Granberry, Michael (June 7, 2022). "Texan Jim Seals of the 1970s hit duo Seals & Crofts dies at 80". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  4. ^ "Jim Seals, of 1970s soft-rock duo Seals and Crofts, dies at 80". The Washington Post. June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Roger (2021-10-17). "Musician Jim Seals is 80, and alive". Ramblin' with Roger. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Willman, Chris (2022-06-07). "Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts, Duo That Ruled '70s Soft-Rock With Hits Like 'Summer Breeze,' Dies at 80". Variety. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  7. ^ Woolley, Ian (2022-06-07). "Just great melodic songs - RIP Jim Seals". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  8. ^ a b "Summer Breeze singer Jim Seals dies aged 80". BBC News. 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  9. ^ "Seals and Seals - Brothers Jim Seals(Seals & Crofts) And Dan Seals(England Dan and John Ford Coley)". www.sealsandseals.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  10. ^ Kolirin, Lianne (2022-06-08). "Jim Seals, of soft-rock duo Seals and Crofts, dead at 80". CNN. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  11. ^ a b "Jim Seals, half of '70s group Seals and Crofts, dies at age 80 - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  12. ^ "Jim Seals of '70s soft-rock group Seals and Crofts dies at 80". Los Angeles Times. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  13. ^ Lee, Benjamin (2022-06-07). "Jim Seals, of soft rock duo Seals and Crofts, dies aged 80". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  14. ^ "Jim Seals of Seals & Crofts Dies at 79: A 'Bona Fide, Dyed in the Wool Musical Genius'". People.com. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  15. ^ Oermann, Robert K. (2025-04-01). "Songwriting Legend Troy Seals Passes". MusicRow.com. Retrieved 2025-07-20.
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