John Barbata, the classic rock drummer who played on era-defining albums by the Turtles, Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, has died. He was 79 years old.
Jefferson Airplane (and its subsidiary Jefferson Starship) confirmed Barbata's death in official posts on their social media accounts. A complete list of survivors and the exact date of death were not immediately available.
Barbata was “known for his exceptional talent,” Jefferson Airplane wrote in the statement announcing his death. “In '72, during a hiatus at CSN&Y, David Crosby introduced him to John The Airplane, who hired him instantly. You can hear John's skills as a drummer on the band's latest studio album, 'Long John Silver,' as well as the live album 'Thirty Seconds Over Winterland.'”
Born in New Jersey, Barbata moved to Southern California as a teenager, playing in surf-rock bands (he was a member of the Sentinels, whose song “La Tinia” was a local radio hit in 1961) before joining the Turtles and then horseback riding. high after their 1965 version of “It Ain't Me Babe.” Barbata recorded her defining number one song “Happy Together” and the follow-up hit “ella She ella'd Rather Be With Me.”
Barbata remained with the group for their last three albums, 1967's “Happy Together,” 1968's “The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands” and 1969's “Turtle Soup.” In his memoirs, he recalled a wild trip to London where he was partying with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, a night that went awry when a Turtles roadie spilled a mug of beer on Lennon.
After the Turtles broke up, Barbata joined CSNY for a series of tour dates that were documented on the live album “4 Way Street,” where he played drums on Neil Young’s “Ohio,” written in the wake of the Kent State campus shootings.
When that group went on hiatus, Barbata performed on several of its members' solo albums, including Young's “Time Fades Away,” Graham Nash's “Songs for Beginners” and Stephen Stills' 1970 self-titled album. (Barbata also played a 45-minute drum solo to prevent riots when the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival suffered a power outage.)
David Crosby recruited him to join the final lineup of Jefferson Airplane, and the band later brought him to Jefferson Starship, where he played hits like “Miracles” on four LPs: 1974's “Dragon Fly,” 1975's “Red Octopus,” and “Spitfire” from 1976. ”and “Tierra” from 1978.
Along the way, he recorded and toured with Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Leon Russell, Doctor John, the Everly Brothers and many more. Barbata, as he recounts in his memoir, turned down both the opportunity to play drums for Elvis Presley and to join the Eagles, telling the Phoenix New Times that “[David] Geffen came up to me and said, 'There's a new group forming and they want you to be a part of it.' They are called the Eagles. I said, 'Who the hell are the Eagles? “I never heard of them.”
A car accident in 1978 and a long recovery necessitated his departure from Jefferson Starship, and he then largely left the music industry. Barbata published a memoir, “The Legendary Life of a Rock Star Drummer,” in 2005. He eventually moved to southern Oklahoma, where he spent his final years.
“It was a wild ride and I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience it,” Barbata told the Oklahoman in 2005. “It was an experience that allowed me to make a lot of money doing what I love.” do: make music and act. I met a lot of wonderful people, learned a lot of hard lessons, and finally met the woman of my dreams.
“What more could a guy from New Jersey ask for?”
