Michael Clarke (drummer)
Michael Clarke (born June 3, 1946 in Spokane , Washington as Michael James Dick , † December 19, 1993 in Treasure Island , Florida ) was an American drummer . In 1964 he was a founding member of the American folk rock band The Byrds , with which he played until 1967. He died of liver failure at the age of 47 after more than 30 years of heavy alcohol consumption.
Live and act
At the age of 17, Clarke ran away from home and hitchhiked to California , where he was hired by Roger McGuinn , Gene Clark and David Crosby as drummer for the newly formed band The Byrds. At the same time, Chris Hillman was accepted as bassist in the formation, which intended to combine folk music with elements of rock 'n' roll , especially in the form of the Beatles . Various Byrds members emphasized that Clarke was accepted because of his resemblance to Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and the hoped-for visual enhancement of the band and less because of his skills on drums. In fact, the first test recordings show that his early style was rather percussive , possibly influenced by his work on the bongos .
The fact that the Byrds' first single ( Mr. Tambourine Man / I Knew I'd Want You ), besides McGuinn, hired studio musicians only corresponds to the cautious approach of Columbia Records . In fact, all musicians at that time were already able to perform an extensive program live, including a. was much appreciated by Bob Dylan and the Beatles. Michael Clarke's work with the Byrds culminated in recordings such as Eight Miles High and I See You (album Fifth Dimension , 1965), during which the band developed their musical stylistic devices further in the direction of jazz ( John Coltrane ) and Asian music.
In 1968, Clarke left the Byrds while recording their album The Notorious Byrd Brothers . The decisive factor for his move were tensions within the group, but also the realization that his musical skills were no longer sufficient for the new stylistic intentions. The 1997 re-release of the album on CD documents how David Crosby tried in vain to get Clarke to play a bossa nova rhythm on the song Dolphin's Smile . Then Clarke retired to Hawaii and worked there on his second calling, as a painter.
In 1969 he first joined Gene Clark and his new group Dillard and Clark and then Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, who had also left the Byrds, in the formation of Flying Burrito Brothers . After a re-union of the original Byrds in 1973, he founded the band Firefall together with Rick Roberts (ex-Flying Burritos) , with which he had his greatest commercial success.
After a few albums and concerts with Jerry Jeff Walker , he joined his former Byrds colleague Gene Clark in 1984 to perform a few shows under the name A 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Byrds . However, after some organizers announced the shows simply as The Byrds , protests rose from McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman, which first led to Gene Clark leaving and then to a long-standing legal battle that Michael Clarke won against his former colleagues. McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman then demonstratively recorded four new songs under the name Byrds .
In spite of all of this, all of the original members met in 1991 to receive their award in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and made peace. Michael Clarke continued to tour called the Byrds Celebration until he died at his Florida home on December 19, 1993 after several hospital stays.
In 1994, a year after his death, Dick Gautier and Jim McMullan published paintings by Clarke in their book Musicians as Artists . In his final days, Michael Clarke had expressed a desire to warn children, especially children, of the dangers of alcohol consumption on television. His girlfriend, Susan Paul, founded the Campaign for Alcohol-free Kids Foundation under his name after his death .
literature
- Johnny Rogan: The Byrds - Timeless Flight Revisited.
- Full Circle - The Byrds Fanzine. Chrissie Oakes, Bristol, England.
Web links
- Michael Clarke website
- Michael Clarke on die-augenweide.de
- Michael Clarke in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Clarke, Michael |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Dick, Michael James (original name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American drummer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 3, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Spokane |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 19, 1993 |
| Place of death | Treasure Island |