James Gadson, a session drummer whose work appeared on untold numbers of records over the decades, has passed away. Fellow musicians have been sharing tributes to Gadson for the past day, and now Gadson’s wife, Barbara, has confirmed the news to Rolling Stone, citing recent health challenges including surgery and a bad fall that hurt his back. "He was a wonderful man,” Barbara told RS. “He was a great husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and one hell of a drummer." Gadson was 86.
Gadson is a Kansas City native. After playing on his local scene for years, Gadson moved to Los Angeles in the mid-'60s. There, he got his start as the drummer for early incarnations of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, the backing ensemble for soul-funk wildman Charles Wright, who had a number of hits in the late '60s and early '70s. Wright and his band released the influential album Express Yourself in 1970 and Gadson's in-the-pocket drums on the title track were famously sampled on the N.W.A classic of the same name.
After the release of the 1971 album You're So Beautiful, most of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, including Gadson, left to join Bill Withers' backing band. They played on his truly stunning 1972 sophomore album Still Bill, which included the #1 hit "Lean On Me." If you want to hear how some fully dialed-in drums can elevate an already-great song, listen to what Gadson does on "Use Me."
From there, Gadson went on to a truly prolific session career. He played on records from artists like the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Freddie King, the Jackson 5, the Undisputed Truth, Quincy Jones, and Herbie Hancock. He's the drummer on disco classics like Diana Ross' "Love Hangover" and Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive." Gadson was also a singer and songwriter, and he released occasional indie-label singles like the very good 1971 song "Got To Find My Baby."
Gadson continued to rack up credits through the '80s, playing on records from artists like Ray Charles, Philip Bailey, Anita Baker, and Teena Marie. He played on Leonard Cohen's The Future in 1992. In 2002, Beck brought Gadson in to play on his album Sea Change, and Gadson went on to play on Beck's later albums The Information and Morning Phase.
In the past 20 years, Gadson's name also appeared in the credits for Justin Timberlake, Lana Del Rey, Harry Styles, and Sturgill Simpson records, among many other. In 2014, Gadson played on D'Angelo's Black Messiah track "Sugah Daddy." He stayed busy right up until the end, appearing on hundreds of records and soundtracking your life in ways that you probably didn't know. Check out some of his work below.
