John Barbata, the drummer who played on classic recordings by the Turtles, Jefferson Starship and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, has died. Rolling rock has confirmed. It was 79.
The Jefferson Starship paid tribute to Barbata on social media, writing, “We are saddened to hear of the passing of the great John Barbata, original drummer for Jefferson Starship. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and fans. Rock in peace, Johnny!”
The news of Barbata's death on May 8 was first reported by The best classical bands. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Jefferson Airplane also honored Barbata Facebook, writing, “Known for his extraordinary talent, John made his mark on the music world playing with bands such as The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship. Back in '72, during a hiatus for CSN&Y, David Crosby introduced John to Airplane, who immediately hired him. You can hear John's drumming skills on the band's latest studio album, Long live John Silveras well as the live album Thirty seconds over Winterland.
New Jersey-born Barbata moved in his teens to southern California, where the drummer got his start in surf-rock bands in the early '60s. The Turtles, a year removed from their 1965 hit “It Ain't Me, Babe,” recruited Barbata to replace founding drummer Don Murray.
Shortly after joining the Turtles, Barbata and the band recorded their Number One hit, “Happy Together”, followed by another hit, “She'd Rather Be With Me”.
Barbata would remain the Turtles' drummer for the band's final three albums led by Flo & Eddie together, 1967 Happy together1968 The turtles present the battle of the bands — where Barbata earned co-singing on the hit “Elenore” — and 1969's Turtle soup.
Shortly after the Turtles broke up in 1970, Barbata was recruited as drummer for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, joining the Rock Hall band for a series of concerts recorded on the live album. 4 Way Street. This album featured the original live version of the Young-penned protest anthem “Ohio”.
CSN&Y had a temporary breakup 4 Way Streetbut Barbata remained in the universe of his members, playing in Neil Young Time is fadingGraham Nash's Songs for beginnersStephen Stills' self-titled 1970 album and more.
By 1972, Barbata was asked, at Crosby's behest, to join the final incarnation of the classic Jefferson Airplane line-up—recording a studio album, in 1972 Long John Silver — and then spent most of the '70s with the reincarnated Jefferson Starship. With this ever-changing lineup, Barbata played drums on four LPs: 1974; Dragonfly1975 Red octopus (which contained the hit “Miracles”), 1976 Techyand of 1978 Earthafter which a car accident and a year of recovery forced him to leave the group.
Barbata was later known for his infamous decision to turn down an invitation to join the Eagles midway through his tenure at CSNY. “[David] Geffen walked up to me and said, “A new team is forming and they want you to be a part of it. They are called Eagles.' I said, “Who the hell are the Eagles? Never heard of them,” Barbata he said to Phoenix New Times in 2014.
After his time with Jefferson Starship, Barbata largely retired from the music industry, eventually moving to Ada, Oklahoma. He published a memoir, The Legendary Life of a Rock Star Drummerin 2005. “I've got stories in there about meeting the Beatles, Elvis…I even met Albert Einstein when I was a kid,” he told Ada News in 2010.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/john-barbata-drummer-the-turtles-csny-jefferson-starship-dead-obituary-1235019260/
