James Gadson

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James Gadson (né James Edward Gadson; born June 17, 1939) is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B.^[1] He is also a singer and songwriter.^[2]

Career[edit]

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Gadson played with the first line-up of Charles Wright's Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band,^[3] and recorded three albums with them between 1968 and 1970. Along with other members of Wright's band, he went on to appear on many hit records, including with Dyke & the Blazers.^[4] Gadson started to become well known as a drummer following the release of the album Still Bill by Bill Withers,^[5] released by Sussex Records in 1972. He played on The Temptations album 1990,^[6] released on the Motown label in 1973.

In 1975, he played with Freddie King on Larger Than Life^[7] and went on to record with Martha Reeves, Randy Crawford, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, Albert King, Rose Royce, Elkie Brooks and many more artists.^[8] In 1975, he anchored the Motown classic double platinum album City Of Angels, recorded by Billy Griffin & The Miracles.

Gadson was also the drummer on Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" in 1976 and Diana Ross's hit 1976 single Love Hangover and appeared on two tracks, "At The Mercy" and "Riding To Vanity Fair", on the 2005 Paul McCartney album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.

He has a brief appearance in the Adam Sandler 2009 movie Funny People as a member of the jam band that Sandler's character hires to play with him.

In April 2009, Gadson joined Alex Dixon, grandson of Willie Dixon, on his 2009 release titled Rising From The Bushes, in which he appeared on two tracks, "Fantasy" and Willie Dixon's famous song "Spoonful".^[9]

In June 2009, Gadson joined Beck, Wilco, Feist and Jamie Lidell covering Skip Spence's Oar as part of Beck's Record Club series, with videos appearing on Beck's website beginning November 2009.^[10] He has drummed on Beck's albums Sea Change, The Information and Morning Phase, as well as Jamie Lidell's 2010 album Compass. Gadson played drums, as well as hambone (slapping his legs), on the D'Angelo song "Sugah Daddy", on the Black Messiah album (2014).^[11] He appeared in the 2016 video for “Mama Can’t Help You No More,” by Doyle Bramhall II.

In 2019, James Gadson, who resides in Los Angeles, was featured on Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back as his paternal niece's and nephew-in-law's restaurant, Bayou on the Vine, was renamed "Gadson's Restaurant & Jazz Club", named after him and his late brother, guitarist Thomas Maurice 'Tutty' Gadson (died 2014).^[12]

Discography[edit]

Singles[edit]

• "Express Yourself" (Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Band) - (1970)
• "Lean On Me" (Bill Withers) - (1972)
• "Use Me" (Bill Withers) - (1972)
• "Got To Find My Baby" / "Let The Feeling Belong" - Cream Records 1014 - (1972)
• "Good Vibrations" / "Just To Love You Girl" - Cream Records 1019 - (1972)
• "Dancing Machine" (Jackson 5) - (1974)
• "I Want You" (Marvin Gaye) - (1976)
• "Love Hangover" (Diana Ross) - (1976)
• "Go By What's In Your Heart" / "Go By What's In Your Heart" - United Artists UA-XW815-Y - (1976)
• "Got To Be Real" (Cheryl Lynn) - (1978)

James Gadson & Lou Washington

• Gadson & Washington - "Ain't No Way To Live" / "Indian Village" - B And W Records – BW-011, B And W Records – BW-012 (12" 33rpm single)^[13]

As sideman[edit]

With Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

• Express Yourself (Warner Bros., 1970)
• You're So Beautiful (Warner Bros., 1971)

With Thijs Van Leer

• O My Love (Phillips Records, 1975)

With Melissa Manchester

• Don't Cry Out Loud (Arista Records, 1978)

With Marvin Gaye

• I Want You (Motown, 1976)
• Midnight Love (Columbia Records, 1982)

With Martha Reeves

• Martha Reeves (MCA Records, 1974)
• We Meet Again (Fantasy Records, 1978)

With Frankie Valli

• Heaven Above Me (MCA Records, 1980)

With Charlotte Gainsbourg

• IRM (Beck, 2009)

With Bette Midler

• Bette (Warner Bros. Records, 2000)

With Thelma Houston and Jerry Butler

• Thelma & Jerry (Motown, 1977)

With Bill Withers

• Still Bill (Sussex, 1972)
• +'Justments (Sussex, 1974)

With Eddie Kendricks

• Boogie Down! (Tamla, 1974)
• The Hit Man (Tamla, 1975)

With Teena Marie

• Starchild (Epic Records, 1984)

With Jamie Lidell

• Compass (Warp Records, 2010)

With Helen Reddy

• Reddy (Capitol Records, 1979)

With Beck

• Sea Change (Geffen, 2002)
• The Information (Idenscope Records, 2006)
• Morning Phase (Capitol Records, 2014)

With Michael Wycoff

• Love Conquers All (RCA Records, 1982)
• On the Line (RCA Records, 1983)

With Solomon Burke

• Make Do with What You Got (Shout! Factory, 2005)

With Justin Timberlake

• FutureSex/LoveSounds (Jive Records, 2006)

With Albert King

• Truckload of Lovin' (Tomato Records, 1976)

With Lana Del Rey

• Paradise (Polydor Records, 2012)

With Thelma Houston

• Ready to Roll (Motown, 1978)
• Breakwater Cat (RCA Records, 1980)

With Elkie Brooks

• Live and Learn (A&M Records, 1979)

With Jamie Cullum

• Catching Tales (Verve, 2005)

With Amos Lee

• Amos Lee (Blue Note Records, 2005)
• Last Days at the Lodge (Blue Note Records, 2008)
• Mission Bell (Blue Note Records, 2011)

With Barbra Streisand

• Wet (Columbia Records, 1979)

With Cheryl Lynn

• Cheryl Lynn (Columbia Records, 1978)
• In Love (Columbia Records, 1979)
• In the Night (Columbia Records, 1981)

With Jimmy Barnes

• Soul Deeper... Songs From the Deep South (Mushroom Records, 2000)
• The Rhythm and the Blues (Liberation Records, 2009)

With Teddy Pendergrass

• Workin' It Back (Asylum Records, 1985)

With Corinne Bailey Rae

• The Heart Speaks in Whispers (Virgin Records, 2016)

With Kelly Clarkson

• Wrapped in Red (RCA Records, 2013)

With Aretha Franklin

• Sweet Passion (Atlantic Records, 1977)
• Aretha (Arista Records, 1986)

With Ben E. King

• Let Me Live in Your Life (Atlantic Records, 1978)

With Doyle Bramhall II

• Rich Man (Concord Records, 2016)

With Donald Fagen

• The Nightfly (Warner Bros. Records, 1982)

With Philip Bailey

• Continuation (Columbia Records, 1983)

With LeAnn Rimes

• Today Is Christmas (Kobalt Label Service, 2015)

With Gloria Gaynor

• Love Tracks (Polydor Records, 1978)
• I Have a Right (Polydor Records, 1979)
• Stories (Polydor Records, 1980)

With Anita Baker

• The Songstress (Elektra Records, 1983)

With Randy Crawford

• Everything Must Change (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)
• Raw Silk (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)
• Nightline (Warner Bros. Records, 1983)

With Shannon McNally

• Jukebox Sparrows (Capitol Records, 2002)

With Donovan

• Lady of the Stars (RCA Records, 1984)

With Yvonne Elliman

• Love Me (RSO Records, 1977)
• Night Flight (RSO Records, 1978)

With Patti LaBelle

• Patti LaBelle (Epic Records, 1977)
• Tasty (Epic Records, 1978)
• Winner in You (MCA Records, 1986)

With Aaron Neville

• Bring It On Home... The Soul Classics (Sony Music, 2006)

With Billy Preston

• Late at Night (Motown, 1979)
• The Way I Am (Motown, 1981)
• Pressin' On (Motown, 1982)

With Rickie Lee Jones

• The Evening of My Best Day (V2 Records, 2003)

With Boz Scaggs

• Slow Dancer (Columbia Records, 1974)

With Harry Styles

• Fine Line (Columbia Records, 2019)

With Smokey Robinson

• Love Breeze (Tamla, 1978)
• Where There's Smoke... (Tamla, 1979)
• Warm Thoughts (Motown, 1980)
• Being with You (Motown, 1981)
• Touch the Sky (Motown, 1983)
• Love, Smokey (Motown, 1990)

With B.B. King

• Midnight Believer (ABC Records, 1978)
• Take It Home (MCA Records, 1979)

With Leonard Cohen

• The Future (Columbia Records, 1992)

With Paul McCartney

• Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Parlophone, 2005)

With Benny Golson

• Killer Joe (Columbia, 1977)

With Adam Cohen

• Adam Cohen (Columbia Records, 1998)

With Herbie Hancock

• Man-Child (Columbia, 1975)

With Minnie Riperton

• Stay in Love (Epic Records, 1977)

With Joe Cocker

• Hymn for My Soul (EMI, 2007)

With Tavares

• Check It Out (Capital, 1974)
• Sky-High! (Capital, 1976)

With Nikka Costa

• Pebble to a Pearl (Stax Records, 2008)

With Phoebe Snow

• It Looks Like Snow (Columbia Records, 1976)

With Terry Reid

• Seed Of A Memory (ABC, 1976)

With Jackie DeShannon

• You're the Only Dancer (Amherst Records, 1977)

With John Handy

• Hard Work (ABC/Impulse, 1976)
• Carnival (ABC/Impulse, 1977)

With Natalie Cole

• Thankful (Capitol Records, 1977)
• Don't Look Back (Capitol Records, 1980)

With Patrice Rushen

• Shout It Out (Prestige, 1977)
• Patrice (Elektra, 1978)
• Pizzazz (Elektra, 1979)
• Posh (Elektra, 1980)
• Straight from the Heart (Elektra, 1982)

With José Feliciano

• José Feliciano (Motown, 1981)

With Charles Kynard

• Charles Kynard (Mainstream, 1971)

With Norah Jones

• The Fall (Blue Note, 2009)

With Syreeta Wright

• Rich Love, Poor Love (Motown, 1977)
• One to One (Motown, 1977)
• Set My Love in Motion (Motown, 1981)

With Jerry Butler

• Power Of Love (Mercury Records, 1973)

With Marlena Shaw

• Sweet Beginnings (Columbia Records, 1977)

With Blue Mitchell

• Stratosonic Nuances (RCA, 1975)
• African Violet (Impulse!, 1977)
• Summer Soft (Impulse!, 1978)

With Lalo Schifrin

• Rollercoaster (MCA, 1977)

With Herb Alpert

• Herb Alpert / Hugh Masekela (Horizon, 1978)

With Vulfpeck

• Mr Finish Line (Vulf, 2017)
• Running Away (Vulf, 2017)

With D'Angelo

• Black Messiah

With Toko Furuuchi

• Hourglass (Sony Records, 1996)

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Vincent, Rickey (1996). Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-13499-1.

External links[edit]

• 2013 Audio Interview with James Gadson from the Podcast "I'd Hit That"
• Modern Drummer Article on James Gadson
• [1] Brian LeBarton interviews James Gadson
• [2] Review of Rising from the Bushes including James Gadson
• The Sessions Panel Dom Famularo interviews James Gadson Part 1, The Sessions Panel Dom Famularo interviews James Gadson Part 2
• James Gadson Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2015)