James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".[1]
Career
Keltner was inspired to start playing because of an interest in jazz, but the popularity of jazz was declining during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and it was the explosion of pop/rock in the mid-1960s that enabled him to break into recording work in Los Angeles. His first gig as a session musician was recording "She's Just My Style" for the pop group Gary Lewis and the Playboys.[2][3]
Keltner's music career was hardly paying a living, and for several years at the outset he was supported by his wife. Toward the end of the 1960s, he finally began getting regular session work and eventually became one of the busiest drummers in Los Angeles. His earliest credited performances on record were with Gabor Szabo on the 1968 album Bacchanal.[2]
In 1968, Keltner was also working in a music shop in Pasadena just down the street from the old Ice House coffeehouse when he was recruited to play drums in a "psychedelic" vocal group named "MC Squared" along with Michael Crowley, Michael Clough, Linda Carey—all from the folk group The Back Porch Majority)—and session guitarist/bassist Randy Cierley Sterling.[4] They were signed by Mo Ostin and recorded an album for Warner/Reprise originally titled "MC Squared" which has later been re-mastered and re-released in 2012 with the album title "Tantalizing Colors."[5] They appeared live that same year on the Hugh Hefner / Playboy Magazine television show Playboy After Dark, playing two songs: an original by MC Squared members Michael Clough and Michael Crowley titled "I Know You" and a version of the Fred Neil song Everybody's Talkin'. Both Playboy After Dark performances with Keltner playing drums can currently be viewed on YouTube.
Keltner is known for his session work on solo recordings by three members of the Beatles, working with George Harrison, John Lennon (including Lennon solo albums, as well as albums released both by the Plastic Ono Band and Yoko Ono), and Ringo Starr.[3]
Keltner's relationship with the former Beatles was such that, in 1973, his name was used to mock Paul McCartney on albums released by Harrison and Starr. Early that year, McCartney, the only Beatle not to have worked with Keltner, included a note on the back cover of his Red Rose Speedway album, encouraging fans to join the "Wings Fun Club" by sending a "stamped addressed envelope" to an address in London. Later that year, both Harrison's Living in the Material World and Starr's Ringo contained a similar note encouraging fans to join the "Jim Keltner Fan Club" by sending a "stamped undressed elephant" to an address in Hollywood.[6][7] Keltner performed with George Harrison throughout his solo career. He even worked on Harrison's final posthumous album Brainwashed.
Keltner played the role of the judge in the music video for George Harrison's 1976 Top 30 hit, "This Song".
Keltner is an endorser of DW drums, hardware and pedals, Ahead drumsticks/gloves/griptape, Paiste Cymbals, Remo drumheads and world percussion and Roland electronics.[citation needed]
Keltner played drums on both albums released by the 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, playing under the pseudonym "Buster Sidebury".[3]
Ry Cooder
Keltner became Ry Cooder's go-to drummer, recording with him on many of his albums for over 40 years, including the following, as well as playing with him in Little Village.
Keltner, as a freelance drummer, has worked with a long list of artists.
1970s
Jim Keltner recorded two albums with his band Attitudes for George Harrison's Dark Horse label. The band also included Danny Kortchmar, David Foster and Paul Stallworth, and recorded Attitudes in 1975 and Good News in 1977.
He played on five songs on Jackson Browne's For Everyman album recorded in 1973 including the song "These Days."
In 1973, he was the session drummer on Bob Dylan's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, which includes the hit "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". He described that session as "a monumental session for me because it was such a touching song, it was the first time I actually cried when I was playing".[3][9]
Other demonstrations of his style and range can be found in "Jealous Guy" on John Lennon's Imagine, the hit single "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright, and "Watching the River Flow" by Bob Dylan.[3]
Keltner is the drummer on the Steely Dan tune "Josie" (released in 1977). In the DVD "Steely Dan - Classic Albums: Aja", Donald Fagen states that in the bridge of the tune, Keltner overdubbed a 16th note based pattern played on a metal trash can lid.
Keltner appeared in the 1979 film "Old Boyfriends" playing drums as a 'Bloodshot Band' member.
Keltner appears on Marc Jordan's 1979 album "Blue Desert" on tracks "Twilight" and "Lost in The Hurrah".
1980s
Keltner specialized in R&B, and developed a deceptively simple drumming style that melds a casual, loose feel with extraordinary precision.[3] He is said[11][according to whom?] to have influenced Jeff Porcaro and Danny Seraphine of Chicago.
He played on Gillian Welch's album Revival, on the track "The Only One and Only".
Keltner played on the 1997 Bill Frisell album Gone, Just Like a Train with Viktor Krauss and toured as a member of the trio in support of the album. He also played on the 1999 Frisell album Good Dog, Happy Man and is pictured in the CD leaflet and back cover (Nonesuch 79536-2).
In 2000, Keltner collaborated with Charlie Watts, drummer of the Rolling Stones, on an instrumental album entitled The Charlie Watts–Jim Keltner Project. [13] Watts played drums for each track, while Keltner contributed sequenced sounds and percussion. Tracks were named after famous drummers.
In 2002, he briefly joined Bob Dylan's band during the European gigs while its main drummer, George Receli, recuperated from a hand injury. Later in the year, Keltner played in Concert For George, a tribute to George Harrison a year following his death. Wearing a sweatshirt with a Bob Dylan logo, he reprised his role as the Wilburys' drummer, joining Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne for "Handle with Care." During that project and performance, he worked with Paul McCartney along with other percussionists, including Ringo Starr.
In 2003, he toured with Simon & Garfunkel in their Old Friends tour.
In 2004, he was one of the "Hot Licks" on Dan Hicks' Selected Shorts CD.[14]
He also lent his drumming skills to the tracks on Richard Shapero's album entitled Wild Animus: The Ram, recorded the same year.
In 2007, he appeared with Lucinda Williams on West. The album was listed No. 18 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007. He also played on Phish keyboardist's self titled debut album Page McConnell, released in 2007.
In 2010, Keltner produced Jerry Lee Lewis's Mean Old Man duets CD. He played drums on Fistful of Mercy's debut album, As I Call You Down, which one of the band's members, Dhani Harrison, described in an interview as the first project of his that he felt worthy to bring to Keltner, who was an old family friend (Dhani is the son of George Harrison). Keltner also played on The Union by Leon Russell and Elton John, produced by T-Bone Burnett and released on October 10, 2010. He also appeared on the eponymousEric Clapton album, on 8 of the 14 tracks.
He played drums on Michael Buble’s 2011 “Christmas” album. The tracks are “All I Want for Christmas is You,” and “Blue Christmas.”
For the 2012 release, Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International, Keltner sat in a studio with Outernational covering Dylan's "When the Ship Comes In".
In 2012, he also played drums on John Mayer's "Something Like Olivia", the fifth track of the album Born and Raised.[16]
That same year, he recorded with Italian instrumental band Sacri Cuori on their second record, Rosario.
In 2014, Keltner played on Peter Himmelman's album The Boat That Carries Us.
In 2016, Keltner recorded drums for Neil Young's thirty-seventh studio album, Peace Trail.
In 2016, Keltner also appeared on the Rolling Stones' CD "Blue & Lonesome", playing percussion on "Hoo Doo Blues."
In 2017, Keltner played drums and percussion as well as co-producing Conor Oberst's Salutations album. Oberst described Keltner's production as "flawless".[17]
In 2019, Keltner played drums along with bassist Mike Watt for guitarist Mike Baggetta's Wall of Flowers album released in March.[18] Keltner played drums on the original soundtrack for the movie "The Irishman". The music was written by Robbie Robertson.
2020s
Keltner plays drums on the song "Kanashiki LA Tengoku" (悲しきLA天国) included on Mike Viola's 2020 album The Best of Mike Viola.[19]Manga artist Naoki Urasawa, who wrote the original song,[19] also performs on it and drew a short manga of the experience for his "Musica Nostra" series that features Keltner.
