Buddy Harman

Murrey "Buddy" Mizell Harman (born December 23, 1928 Nashville ; † August 21, 2008 ibid) was a sought-after drummer in the role of studio musician , who took part in numerous recordings for country musicians , especially in Nashville, and for the loose association of studio musicians of the One of Nashville A-Teams . But not only the country scene booked his services, because he also worked for pop and rock musicians.

Career

Harman's mother played drums in a Nashville recreational band that his father founded. With role models such as Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich , Buddy Harman decided to study at the Roy Kapp School of Percussion in Chicago from 1949 . In 1952 he returned to Nashville. The country music scene that was establishing itself in Nashville offered him excellent opportunities. At first, the music producers gave him little freedom to develop his talents, because drums were hardly used in country music at the time. When he played for Carl Smith in the Grand Ole Opry in 1954 , he had to stay behind the curtain with his drums, since at that time the drums were not allowed to be seen on this stage in country music. Only later did the new management under Dee Kilpatrick (since September 24, 1956) allow him to enter the stage with at least a snare drum . Carl Smith brought him into his backing band Tunesmiths in 1954 , the first recordings were made with Buddy Harman on September 5, 1954.

Main occupation: studio musician

For most of the country stars, he not only attended a recording session, but was hired by them on a regular basis. He began his job as a studio drummer on May 19, 1954 while recording for Grandpa Jones (a total of 14 recording sessions), followed by Chet Atkins (48) on June 20, 1954 , and Hank Snow (45), 21 from October 3, 1954 January 1955 Porter Wagoner (16); from May 30, 1955 he worked for Jim Reeves (45) or from July 1, 1955 for Webb Pierce (26). The large number of orders made him from 1955 the first full-time studio drummer in Nashville.

He has accompanied Brenda Lee (42) since May 8, 1955, and on October 28, 1958, Brenda Lee's rocking Christmas carol Rockin 'Around the Christmas Tree with Harman was composed. From April 27, 1956 he played for Faron Young in a total of 75 sessions, since December 12, 1956 for Hank Locklin ( Please Help me I'm Falling , January 5, 1960; 23). From February 13, 1957, he played in 29 sessions for Ray Price . Since March 1, 1957, he also contributed to nine sessions for the Everly Brothers , whose first hit, Bye Bye Love, came about that day. On 'Till I Kissed You (July 7, 1959), he tuned his drums so that they seemed to answer the vocals acoustically. From July 9, 1957, he was on drums for Johnny Horton (22; The Battle of New Orleans , January 27, 1959; Sink the Bismarck , December 30, 1959), Ferlin Husky booked him from December 2, 1957, Floyd Tillman from 11 December 1957. Country legend Don Gibson has used Harman's services for 78 sessions since February 27, 1958, the last session with Harman being on November 24, 1980 after 22 years.

Buddy Harman was part of the cast at Patsy Cline (from January 8, 1959; 19). He played on almost all film soundtracks for Elvis Presley from 20/21. March 1960 ( Little Sister ). From March 26, 1960, he also worked for Roy Orbison (16). He initially accompanied the aspiring singer in the RCA Victor Studio ( Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel) , March 26, 1960), but also in the Fred Foster recording studio, where Orbison's world hit Oh, Pretty Woman was recorded on August 1, 1964 . Its intro deserves a description: the bass drum is struck on every beat , while the snare drum doubles this beat, and the closed hi-hat is struck on every start. After one bar Grady Martin starts on his acoustic 12-string guitar with a broken chord - riff . After one repetition, the electric bass and the electric lead guitar begin, after two more repetitions the second electric guitar starts and is punctured by the saxophone. In October 1960, Harman himself was in the foreground when the drum twist was created. In total, he made five singles with his Buddy Harman Combo .

Drums for more hits

Patti Page chose the drummer from February 6, 1961 as accompanist in the recording studio (15), from February 9, 1961 he played for Jerry Lee Lewis ( What'd I Say ; 57), Claude King hired him from April 16, 1961, Jimmy Dean from August 18, 1961 ( Big Bad John ; 13), Johnny Cash (from August 8, 1958; eight sessions). Tammy Wynette booked him from February 20, 1970 ( Stand by Your Man ; 12). Loretta Lynn from September 8, 1961 ( Don't Come Home A 'Drinkin' (With Lovin 'on Your Mind) , October 5, 1966; Woman of the World , November 18, 1968; Love is the Foundation March 5, 1973) . Harman remained loyal to her for 72 sessions through April 1983, but with major interruptions. He plays percussion for Simon & Garfunkels million seller The Boxer . The basic recordings for this took place in Nashville from November 16, 1968, violins and vocals were added in the Columbia Studios in New York, the final part was created in December 1968 in St. Paul's Cathedral . He played bass on Ringo Starr's country album Beaucoups of Blues , which was produced in Nashville from June 26, 1970.

Services

Buddy Harman's quiet work on the drums in Crazy (August 21, 1961) for Patsy Cline was the basis of the Country Shuffle rhythm he developed (Nashville version): the broom is predominantly preferred, beats 1 and 3 are performed on the bass drum , 2 and 4 on the snare drum. This is where Harman's versatile percussion work can be recognized. He mastered both the hard beat ( Oh, Pretty Woman , Roy Orbison), graceful swing ( King of the Road , Roger Miller ), direct country style ( Coal Miner's Daughter , Loretta Lynn) and restrained rhythm ( I'm Sorry ; Brenda Lee ). In the early sixties he played 600 sessions a year. It can be heard on an estimated 15,000 to 18,000 recordings. That made him the busiest session musician of all time. Harman mainly used a four-ply maple wood drum kit from the Pearl Masters brand .

Family and awards

Buddy Harman was married to Marsha Marvell Irby Harman since 1967. The children of the marriage were Summer, Autumn (daughters), Mark, Stanley, Murrey M. Harman III and Richard († 2007). Since May 1991 he was again employed drummer with the Grand Ole Opry . His top awards were Drummer of the Year (1981; Academy of Country Music) and Super Picker Award for drums on most number one hits (Nashville NARAS 1975 and 1976). His work can be heard on the CD Regeneration (Reunion of Nashville's A Team) , which brought the studio musicians together again in September 2003. He died of heart failure in 2008 in his native Nashville.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Paul Kingsbury (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Country Music , 2012, pp. 228 f.
2. ↑ from Buddy Rich he took his nickname
3. ^ ^{A b} > Richard Carlin, Country , 2005, p. 94
4. ^ Walter Everett, The Foundations of Rock , 2008, pp. 85 f.
5. Jump up ↑ Peter Wicke, Rock Music: Culture, Aesthetics and Sociology , 1990, p. 6
6. ↑ Bill Friskics-Warren / David Cantwell, Heartaches by The Number , 2003, p 57
7. ↑ The New York Times, Aug. 22, 2008, Buddy Harman, 79, Busy Nashville Drummer is Dead