James Gadson, one of the most recorded session drummers in the history of popular music, has died at the age of 86.

Gadson’s wife Barbara confirmed his passing to Rolling Stone, noting that he had recently faced a series of health challenges including a surgery and a fall that injured his back. “He was a wonderful man,” she said. “He was a great husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and one hell of a drummer.”

Born June 17, 1939 in Kansas City, Missouri, Gadson grew up in a musical household. His father was a drummer who started him on cornet in his school’s drum and bugle corps. As a teenager he sang doo-wop with a group called the Carpets, and later discovered funk music while stationed with the Air Force in Louisiana. After leaving the service he taught himself drums and began working with Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, which set him on a path to becoming one of the most in-demand session players of the 1970s.

His discography from that decade alone reads as a survey of the era’s greatest records. He laid down the groove on Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” and “Use Me,” Diana Ross’ “Love Hangover,” Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You,” Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and The Jackson 5’s “Dancing Machine.” Over the following decades he continued working with an extraordinary range of artists including Leonard Cohen, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Bobby Womack, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Herbie Hancock, Paul McCartney, D’Angelo, Beck, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, Lana Del Rey and Harry Styles.

“Most grooves, especially for dance music, are very simple,” Gadson told Modern Drummer in 2007. “You have to slow them down and simplify it. Then you can kind of feel whether it’s danceable or not.”

Tributes poured in following news of his passing. Beck wrote on Instagram: “He played drums on many of my records over the decades, from Midnite Vultures on, and has been a significant part of the sound of so many of my songs.” Questlove called him the defining figure in breakbeat drumming, writing that no drummer has had greater impact on the art of danceable drums. Ray Parker Jr. added simply: “We played together over 50 years. He changed the world.”

For the full obituary, read Billboard’s report here: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/james-gadson-death-drummer-dies-diana-ross-bill-withers-1236215434/

Previously on mxdwn:

Diana Ross is bringing Beautiful Love Performances – Legacy 2024 Tour to Bergen Performing Arts Center on October 27th: https://music.mxdwn.com/2024/08/27/new-york-city/diana-ross-is-bringing-beautiful-love-performances-legacy-2024-tour-to-bergen-performing-arts-center-on-october-27th/

Diana Ross Releases Uplifting New Song “If The World Just Danced”: https://music.mxdwn.com/2021/09/04/news/diana-ross-releases-uplifting-new-song-if-the-world-just-danced/

Diana Ross Teams Up with Tame Impala for “Turn Up the Sunshine”: https://music.mxdwn.com/2022/05/19/news/diana-ross-teams-up-with-tame-impala-for-hippy-new-song-turn-up-the-sunshine-for-minions-the-rise-of-gru/