Dead Drummers – Big Drum Thump

Dead Kennedys Drummer Has Died

BDT — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 21:13:50 +0000

Man, it’s almost Halloween, the very best holiday ever, and now it totally blows this year because we just lost D. H. Peligro. He held down the throne for punk icons Dead Kennedys from ’81 to ’86 and then did a long, long second stint with the band throughout the 2000s. He was also in Red Hot Chili Peppers for about a minute (before Chad Smith), but he’ll always be most remembered and loved for hammering thick and fast punk beats with the Kennedys.

He died on October 28 from head trauma due to an accidental injury, which is particularly galling because the dude was only 63 and in outstanding shape. Check out his superb playing posture for example.

So I’ve decided to take away the candy bowl this year and hand out homemade copies of Frankenchrist instead. The little knobtards in my neighborhood could do with less sugar and more music-muscle anyway.

Photo credit: Stefan Müller on Flickr

Anton Fier Is Dead

BDT — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 05:30:00 +0000

Way back in 1989, I was still pretty much a cymbal-destroying metalhead when one day some of my musically hipper friends made me listen to Bob Mould’s Workbook. The main single from the album, “See a Little Light,” turned me into a bona fide fanboy for indie alt-pop, and it’s not too far off to say that my musical life was completely changed. Anton Fier played drums on that track, and now Anton Fier is dead.

In addition to Bob Mould, Fier played with the Feelies, the Lounge Lizards, Pere Ubu, and the Voidoids, and he also founded the Golden Palominos. If you were in a punk-flavored indie-alt-rock band, Fier was the dude you wanted driving your sound, a genuinely great drummer.

He died, age 66, on September 14 in Switzerland by assisted suicide. He did not have a life-ending illness, but he reportedly did decide that he had “completed life.”

Mortality is always a complicated, slippery, tricky affair. Speaking selfishly as a fan, I’m just glad we had Fier for as long as we did.

John Hartman Is Dead

BDT — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 14:29:00 +0000

Doobie Brothers drummer and co-founding member John Hartman died yesterday. He was 72.

The Doobie dude played on the hits you remember blastin’ in your friend’s dilapidated and duct-taped Firebird back in the day, especially “Listen to the Music” and “China Grove.”

The band eulogized Hartman on their Twitter feed.

pic.twitter.com/abBbonXxIe
— The Doobie Brothers (@TheDoobieBros) September 22, 2022

Little John, we’d light up a proper large-ass doobie to salute you and send you on your way, but it’s still illegal here in the mossback ATL. So let’s watch YouTube instead.

[via USA Today]

Drummer Uriel Jones Is Dead

BDT — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Motown legend and Funk Brother Uriel Jones died today after suffering complications from a heart attack. The 74-year-old drummer had created the beats behind just about every classic tune you ever wished you could have played on, including “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg.” Jones and the rest of the Funk Brothers were featured in the excellent 2002 documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown. A little bit of Jones in action:

Drummer Louie Bellson Has Died

BDT — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:10:48 +0000

Elder drumming statesman, double bass pioneer, all-around great showman, and a totally nice dude, Louie Bellson died two days ago at the age of 84. Click on over to the Telegraph for an excellent obituary on this excellent drummer. Condolences and cards, should you wish to send any, can be addressed as follows:

Mrs. Louie Bellson
c/o Remo, Inc.
28101 Industry Drive
Valencia, CA 91355

Michael Lee Update

BDT — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:51:06 +0000

Michael Lee died last week of then-unknown causes, but Blabbermouth is now reporting that the 39-year-old drummer suffered a fatal seizure. A funeral service for Lee will be held on December 3 at 10:45 a.m. in Darlington, England. Cards and flowers can be sent to the following address:

John Meynell Funeral Service
150 North Road
Darlington
County Durham, DL1 2EJ
United Kingdom

Loudness Drummer Is Dead

BDT — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:04:41 +0000

Munetaka Higuchi, the drummer for ’80s metal band Loudness, died today at a hospital in Osaka, Japan. He had been battling liver cancer since April of this year. Sadly, Higuchi was only 49 years old.

Drummer Michael Lee Is Dead

BDT — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:51:37 +0000

He played drums for Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Thin Lizzy, Lenny Kravitz, and The Cult, but now the incredible Michael Lee is no more. He died Monday morning at the age of 39. Cause of demise is not yet known.

Mitch Mitchell Is Dead

BDT — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:12:06 +0000

Sad, sad day, fellow thumpers. Mitch Mitchell, the legendary skinsman behind Jimi Hendrix, is no more. He was found dead in a Portland hotel room earlier today. At this time, it appears the 61-year-old drummer died of natural causes, though an autopsy is planned. We’ll keep you updated as details become available.

Update [11/13/08]: The accolades for Mitch Mitchell are deservedly hitting the Web today. DRUM! has kindly posted a feature the magazine did on Mitchell in 1998. Modern Drummer also posted an excerpt about him from the “Drum Gods” series. Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer remembers Mitchell here.

Update [11/14/08]: Matt Sorum also pays tribute to Mitchell.

Mitch Mitchell obituaries:

BBC (includes a short video performance)
The Guardian
NME

Jimmy Carl Black Is Dead

BDT — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:16:15 +0000

Jimmy Carl Black, the original drummer in Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, died on Saturday at the age of 70. Cancer was the culprit. Along with stick wielding, Black also handled some vocals in Mothers. He continued to perform (and sometimes had to resort to “real” jobs) throughout his fairly long life. Here he is on stage in 2007. [Update 2022: Ugh, this vid is gone, and there isn’t much of anything of him playing drums left on YouTube.]