J.M. “Jimmy” Van Eaton, a pioneering rock ‘n’ roll drummer who performed behind the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Billy Lee Riley at Solar Information in Memphis, Tennessee, died Friday at age 86, a member of the family stated.
Van Eaton, a Memphis native who got here to the well-known report label as a youngster, died at his dwelling in Alabama after coping with well being points over the past 12 months, The Industrial Enchantment of Memphis reported, with a daughter, Terri Van Eaton Downing, confirming his dying.
Van Eaton was recognized for his bluesy taking part in type that the newspaper stated powered traditional early-rock hits at Solar like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Lewis and “Red Hot” by Riley. He additionally performed with Invoice Justis and Charlie Wealthy.
James Mack Van Eaton initially started taking part in trumpet in a faculty band, however he quickly moved to drums, saying in a 2015 interview that “it was an instrument that intrigued me.”
Van Eaton had his personal rock ‘n’ roll band known as The Echoes that might report a demo on the recording studio operated by Sam Phillips. His work there led him to attach with Riley and later Lewis.
“The hardest man to play with in the world was Jerry Lee. I told every musician to stay out of this man’s way,” Phillips advised The Industrial Enchantment in 2000. “The one exception was JM Van Eaton.”
Van Eaton turned a core of musicians that carried out at Solar by way of the Nineteen Fifties, the newspaper reported.
Van Eaton drifted away from the music enterprise within the Nineteen Sixties, however he resumed performing by the Nineteen Seventies, significantly as curiosity in rockabilly grew following the dying of Elvis Presley.
By the early Eighties, Van Eaton started 4 many years of working within the municipal bond enterprise. However he additionally was a part of the staff that performed the music for the movie “Great Balls of Fire,” about Lewis, and he put out a solo album within the late Nineteen Nineties. He was a member of the Rockabilly Corridor of Fame and Memphis Music Corridor of Fame. He moved from Tennessee to Alabama a number of years in the past.
Different survivors of Van Eaton embody one other daughter, two sons and a stepson. His former spouse, Deborah, stated that non-public companies shall be held within the coming week, the newspaper stated.
