James Gadson — the veteran R&B, soul, funk and rock drummer who played with Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Paul McCartney and many others — has died at the age of 86.
Gadson’s wife, Barbara, confirmed the news to Rolling Stone and told the magazine that he’d recently undergone surgery and suffered a nasty fall that hurt his back.
“He was a wonderful man,” she said. “He was a great husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and one hell of a drummer.”
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James Gadson’s Life and Career
Born on June 17, 1939 in Kansas City, Missouri, Gadson made a name for himself in the late ’60s playing with Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, with whom he recorded the Top 5 R&B hit “Express Yourself” in 1970. He went on to play on Withers’ classic 1972 album Still Bill (featuring the No. 1 hit “Lean on Me”), as well as Gaye’s I Want You and Ross’ disco smash “Love Hangover.”
Throughout the ’70s, Gadson played with a myriad of other artists including Freddie King, Martha Reeves, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Albert King and more. He contributed to Donald Fagen’s 1982 solo debut The Nightfly, and in the 2000s he delved more into rock and pop, playing on McCartney’s Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds and a trio of Beck albums: Sea Change, The Information and Morning Phase.
James Gadson’s Advice for Improving the Groove
As one of the most-recorded drummers in R&B history, Gadson picked up plenty of tips and tricks along the way. His advice for other drummers trying to improve their groove was simple: slow down.
“Understand what it is, and simplify,” he told Modern Drummer in 2007. “Most grooves, especially for dance music, are very simple. Even so, to learn them, you have to slow them down. A lot of times we do all these rudimental things to see how fast we can play. I think you have to slow it all down and simplify it. Then you can kind of feel whether it’s danceable or not.”
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