Bobby Graham (musician)
| Bobby Graham | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robert Francis Neate |
| Born |
11 March 1940 Edmonton, North London, England |
| Died |
14 September 2009 (aged 69) Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Session musician, drummer |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1960s–2009 |
| Website |
www |
Bobby Graham (11 March 1940 – 14 September 2009) was an English session drummer, composer, arranger and record producer. Shel Talmy, who produced The Kinks, David Bowie and The Who, described Graham as "the greatest drummer the UK has ever produced."[1]
Biography
Born Robert Francis Neate at North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton, North London, England, Graham became a member of The Outlaws and worked with Joe Meek.[2] He left to join work with Joe Brown in 1961.[2] Graham was approached by Brian Epstein when it was decided to remove Pete Best from The Beatles. Graham turned Epstein down as he was then the drummer for a much more successful band, Joe Brown and The Bruvvers, and so Epstein instead chose Ringo Starr.[3] Graham was a part of the British elite session team (comparable to the American "Wrecking Crew") made up of artists such as Big Jim Sullivan, Vic Flick and Jimmy Page.
Graham played on 13 number one singles, including those by The Dave Clark Five, Englebert Humperdinck, John Leyton, Peter and Gordon, Jackie Trent, The Kinks, Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield, and appeared on a total of 40 UK top five hits (10 number two hits; 4 number 3 hits; 6 number 4 hits; 7 number five hits; 107 top 50 hits - 1155 days in the charts). In a discography that counts approximately 15,000 titles, he played on hits by The Animals, John Barry, Shirley Bassey, Joe Cocker, Billy Fury, Herman's Hermits, Benny Hill, Rod Stewart, Dave Berry, Joe Brown and The Bruvvers, Chubby Checker, Petula Clark, Brenda Lee, Lulu, Brian Poole & The Tremeloes, The Pretty Things, PJ Proby, Van Morrison, Them, The Walker Brothers, and Marianne Faithfull.[4]
Graham also toured the UK as drummer in his own jazz band.
He died of stomach cancer in September 2009 at the Isabel Hospice, Welwyn Garden City.[1]
Recording credits
Graham played on over 15,000 titles,[5] including:
- "You Really Got Me", "All Day And All Of The Night" and "Tired of Waiting" by The Kinks
- "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" by The Animals
- "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" by Rod Stewart
- "Downtown" by Petula Clark
- "Green Green Grass of Home" by Tom Jones[6]
- "Gloria" and "Baby Please Don't Go" by Them (ft. Van Morrison)
- "I Only Want to Be with You" by Dusty Springfield
- "I Believe" by The Bachelors
- "Is It True" by Brenda Lee. Produced by Mickie Most in 1964.
- Glad All Over and Bits and Pieces by The Dave Clark Five
Literature
- Patrick Harrington: The Session Man (Broom House Publishing Ltd., 12 Nov 2004) - ISBN 0-9549142-0-1
References
- 1 2 "UK's king of drums dies at 69". Express.co.uk. 2009-09-15. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
- 1 2 "Bobby Graham career". Bobbygraham.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
- ↑ Herrington and Graham, The Session Man: The story of Bobby Graham, the UK's greatest session drummer, Broom House Publishing Limited, Monmouthshire, 2004 p 84-86
- ↑ "Kinks and Tom Jones drummer dies". BBC News. 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
- ↑ Herrington and Graham, The Session Man: The story of Bobby Graham, the UK's greatest session drummer, Broom House Publishing Limited, Monmouthshire, 2004 p 9
- ↑ Herrington, Patric and Bobby Graham, The Session Man: The Story of Bobby Graham, the UK's greatest session drummer, Broom House, Raglan, 2004, p. 129