azblueshof

                                                                                    With permission from the family of James “Dr. Fish” Price
It is with sincere and heartfelt sadness, that we let the blues community here in Arizona, the nation, and worldwide, know of the passing of our iconic Valley blues legend, extraordinary keys player, and one of the most soulful and recognizable vocalists, Dr. Fish, who passed away at 12:24 a.m. this morning surrounded by his family and friends. James Price, known to us a Dr. Fish, or “Fish” toured the world and graced the illustrious and famed stages with B.B. King, Little Milton (whom he toured with for years), Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Luther Jackson, (Uncle of Michael Jackson), and many others that only those few have the honor, as a musician and performer. His son “Bam” tells us, “after concerts, he and Miles Davis would talk and drink together until the early morning hours, sharing a friendship, that would extend to Miles’ family, who still hold a friendship with Dr. Fish to this day.” Dr. Fish has been worthy of being in the ABHOF since the Hall was founded, and was nominated numerous times. This year, he was voted in by his peers, and professional counterparts, the Members of the ABHOF. Bob Corritore, long time friend, who played and learned from Dr. Fish, made the call in December to let Fish know he was being inducted. Bob let us know he was ecstatic and delighted, and was looking forward to playing at the Induction Ceremony. He hand picked those he wanted to play with and back him in celebrating this honor. In addition, Dr. Fish will be the first recipient of the ABHOF Heritage Award. This award has been something the Board has been working on for about two years, the finalists and honorees are chosen by a committee of seasoned blues musicians and professional peers, here in the Valley, and when creating the honor and developing the criteria, it was Dr. Fish’s legacy that shaped those decisions as he was the first person that came to mind. The presentation of this award at the Induction Ceremony to Dr. Fish, will also be a tribute to his contributions to the Arizona blues community. The Board was going to surprise him with this award, however, we were actually to excited to not tell him; the honor was truly inspired by Dr. Fish and there was no doubt that he was going to be the first to receive The Heritage Award. Although we did not expect the loss of Dr. Fish, The Hall was aware that Dr. Fish was having some health challenges the past couple weeks, and we had discussed with Bam moving forward with a performance at the Induction Ceremony tomorrow if Fish was or was not able to perform or attend. As of now, the musicians that Dr. Fish hand chose, will be performing, and we will pay tribute and celebrate him home in a way that only musicians can do. Our prayers and love go out to James’ family and friends, as well as our music community who loved and adored, Dr. Fish. With our sadness, also comes endless gratefulness for the gifts, and friendship he gave us all, for the example of a life well lived.
The ABHOF Board