John Barbata, The Turtles & Jefferson Starship Drummer, Dies at 79

John Barbata, the drummer for bands such as The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, has died aged 79.

The Facebook account for Jefferson Airplane — which Barbata joined in 1972 — shared this Position on Monday: “Known for his extraordinary talent, John left his mark on music. During a break for CSN&Y, David Crosby introduced John to Airplane, who hired John immediately. You can hear John's drumming skills on the band's latest studio album, LONG JOHN SILVERas well as the live album THIRTY SECONDS TO WINTERLAND.

“Rest in peace, John,” the post concluded, with a red heart emoji.

After the pioneering psych-rock band Jefferson Airplane reformed in the mid-1970s to form Jefferson Starship, Barbata was the new group's founding drummer. “We are saddened to learn of the death of the great John Barbata,” says a Post on Facebook on the Starship page. “Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and fans. Rock in peace, Johnny!”

Prior to his time with the Jefferson Stores, Barbata served as percussionist for The Turtles, lending his skills to recordings of such hits as the Billboard Hot 100 “Happy Together” as well as “Elenore” and “She'd Rather Be With My.” After the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band broke up in 1970, the New Jersey native was tapped by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to perform live and work on the members' solo projects before moving to Airplane.

After his retirement, Barbata released his memoirs: Johnny Barbata – The Legendary Life of a Rock Star Drummer. “There are lots of great stories about all the bands and people I've had the pleasure of working with during my incredible career,” reads the book's Amazon description.

“I've done a lot of albums and 28 singles and my wife said, 'You know you're part of rock and roll history. You really should write a book,” he said Desert Sun in 2014. “I always talk to people about how [the ’60s and ’70s] it was the best time, time for music.”