John Barbata, the drummer for the Turtles, Jefferson Airplane, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Younger, who walked away from rock music on the peak of his profession, has died. He was 79.
His loss of life was introduced in a social media publish by Jefferson Airplane on Monday. A reason for loss of life was not given and a listing of survivors was not instantly out there.
Mr. Barbata joined the Turtles after leaving his highschool band and loved success nearly instantly, drumming on the band’s best-known observe, “Comfortable Collectively,” launched in 1967.
“I heard that the Turtles have been on the lookout for a drummer, they referred to as me right down to the studio to attempt me out on some session work, the primary music we recorded was ‘Comfortable Collectively,’” Mr. Barbata wrote on his now defunct web site, archived by internet.archive.org.
“We acquired it in a single take,” he stated.
The music spent three weeks at No. 1 and have become a pop basic. It’s been carried out by acts as diverse as Mel Tormé, Weezer, Miley Cyrus and the punk band Easy Plan.
Mr. Barbata got here to the Turtles after leaving his highschool band, The Sentinals, in San Luis Obispo, Calif. for Los Angeles to pursue a profession in music.
In an interview, the self-taught drummer spoke of the short catapult to fame “Comfortable Collectively” had given the band and recalled acting on tv packages like “The Ed Sullivan Present” and witnessing the fervour of Sixties teen followers up shut.
“The Turtles was the primary and final group I used to be in the place the children have been nonetheless screaming and going loopy,” Mr. Barbata stated in his memoir, “Johny Barbata: The Legendary Lifetime of a Rock Star Drummer.”
He described one scene at a present in Alabama the place he and his bandmates needed to blaze their method by way of a crowd of ladies pulling at their hair and ripping buttons and no matter else they might off their our bodies to maintain as souvenirs.
He would go away the band in 1970 to affix Crosby, Stills, Nash and Younger, enjoying on the people rock band’s dwell album and tour “4 Manner Road” in 1971, which bought 5 million copies that 12 months. He later performed on a number of of the band members’ solo works.
David Geffen, who had simply began his first document label, invited Mr. Barbata to affix a brand new group referred to as the Eagles, however he declined, saying he couldn’t depart C.S.N.Y., in accordance with a profile on him within the e-book “Nice Rock Drummers of the Sixties” by Bob Cianci.
The final bands that he joined have been Jefferson Airplane, which he joined in 1972, and its later offshoot, Jefferson Starship. His drums appeared on Jefferson Airplane’s ultimate studio album “Lengthy John Silver.” He additionally labored as a session drummer.
John Barbata, born on April 1, 1945 in New Jersey, stated he had labored on greater than 100 albums and had a hand in 20 hit singles by the top of his musical profession, although he was not all the time credited.
After surviving a critical automobile accident in Northern California in 1978, he was dropped by Jefferson Starship. At age 33, he determined to go away rock music and grow to be a born-again Christian.
He dabbled in Christian music and ultimately settled on a ranch in rural Oklahoma along with his spouse and daughter, and made and bought redwood espresso tables, in accordance with “Nice Rock Drummers of the Sixties.”
“I used to be very lucky,” Mr. Barbata stated. “I had an excellent profession. Most drummers solely go round as soon as. I went round thrice and performed with the very best musicians on the earth.”
