Sun Records Drummer Dies at 86

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 Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, died Friday (Feb. 9) at age 86, a member of the family mentioned.

Van Eaton, a Memphis native who got here to the well-known report label as a teen, died at his residence in Alabama after coping with well being points over the past 12 months, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis reported, together with his spouse, Deborah, confirming his demise.

Van Eaton was identified for his bluesy enjoying fashion that the newspaper mentioned powered basic early-rock hits at Sun like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Lewis and “Red Hot” by Riley. He additionally performed with Bill Justis and Charlie Rich.

James Mack Van Eaton initially started enjoying trumpet in a college 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 may report a demo at 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 instructed The Commercial Appeal in 2000. “The one exception was JM Van Eaton.”

Van Eaton turned a part of a core of musicians that carried out at Sun by way of the Nineteen Fifties, the newspaper reported.

Van Eaton drifted away from the music enterprise within the Sixties, however he resumed performing by the Nineteen Seventies, notably as curiosity in rockabilly grew following the demise of Elvis Presley.

By the early Nineteen Eighties, Van Eaton started 4 many years of working within the municipal bond enterprise. But he additionally was a part of the group that performed the music for the movie Great Balls of (*86*), about Lewis, and he put out a solo album within the late Nineties. He was a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and Memphis Music Hall of Fame. He moved from Tennessee to Alabama a number of years in the past.

In addition to his spouse, Van Eaton is survived by a son and daughter.