In case you hadn't heard...Dallas Taylor, Former Drummer for Crosby, Stills and Nash, Dead at 66

Here's an excerpt of an article that mentions Bill Wyman and Dallas Taylor playing with Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, and Muddy Waters (source: "Messin' with the Kids" ):
"Buddy and Junior continued to work as a double act but their peak activity on the Stones tour was two years in the past. But it was the Stones connection that brought about the session contained here. Bill Wyman was contacted by Montreux Jazz Festival organiser Claude Nobs, who asked him to put together a rhythm section to back Muddy Waters. It turned out that Nobs had also booked Buddy and Junior to appear, along with pianist Pinetop Perkins. Wyman recruited drummer Dallas Taylor, a lynchpin of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's band, and a guitarist, Terry Taylor (no relation), from rockers Tucky Buzzard, with whom he'd worked frequently in the past.

" 'So, the three of us went to Montreux,' Wyman told Willock, 'and we set up a rehearsal with Muddy. We got up there and met Buddy again, and Junior and Pinetop. We rehearsed two halves of two numbers. And Muddy said, "Great! That'll do." We went back to the hotel with Buddy and Junior. They said, "Look, we don't like our backing group. Would you like to back us too, on the first set?" Delighted! So we just went on, and we didn't really have a rehearsal with them either. We went on the next day and did the whole set. Buddy was just counting the times in and Dallas Taylor as really good, because he had to get it the first time, whatever it was'."

And here's Muddy Waters with Bill and Dallas Taylor from Montreux 1974

Damn, really sad news and I'm sorry to hear it.

Dallas was a big part of one of my favorite records, Deja Vu. He survived almost 25 years after a liver transplant and was devoted to helping people get sober for the last 30 years.

His book Prisoner of Woodstock is worth reading.

One only has to listen to the drumming on tracks like these, which were all over the place musically to understand what a great musician he was.





peace

Thanks for the book recommendation, Naturalust. And you're so right about the drumming on Deja Vu -- I had never noticed it before, and you're exactly right -- so much is going on otherwise, this really is drumming in service to a song.

Rest in peace. a good person and musician gone.

have a safe journey to the skies above....

Jeroen

These are sad news indeed.

CSN&Y's July 70 tour is one my favourites, I am still looking for tapes from LA Forum and Chicago Auditorium by the way.

To this day I am still angry, that they kicked out Dallas Taylor and Greg Reeves before the tour had really started!

R.I.P. Dallas!

Let me recommend this dvd:

"Legends Of The Canyon"!

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Rank Stranger

Let me recommend this dvd:

"Legends Of The Canyon"!

Thanks!

From CSN's 1991 4-disc box set, here's Suite Judy Blue Eyes, with Dallas's missing drum track, silenced on the original release, now restored.

[www.youtube.com]

Sad news.
Great tasteful drummer he was . .

I remember Wyman saying in some old rock magazine that next to Charlie, he enjoyed playing with Dallas Taylor more than any other drummer.

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Jesse1960
I remember Wyman saying in some old rock magazine that next to Charlie, he enjoyed playing with Dallas Taylor more than any other drummer.

Wyman once told Dallas he wanted to quit the Stones to join Dallas in Manassas... but I guess Fuzzy Samuel already had a pretty good bass amp.

peace

a bit of blues

Dallas was a fine drummer. I love(d) CSNY but they were at their best with Reeves and Taylor.
It's to Taylor's credit that when he turned his life around he worked hard to help people with addiction problems. Shame CSNY didn't go to him for help because they've been addicted to sabotaging their own careers since about 1970, maybe earlier.

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ash
Dallas was a fine drummer. I love(d) CSNY but they were at their best with Reeves and Taylor.
It's to Taylor's credit that when he turned his life around he worked hard to help people with addiction problems. Shame CSNY didn't go to him for help because they've been addicted to sabotaging their own careers since about 1970, maybe earlier.

Crosby was well on his way to prison and eventual sobriety by the time Dallas got clean in the mid-80's, I doubt he would have been much help during Crosby's darkest days. Obviously Nash and Young have been able to keep it together and my guess is that Stills will never change.

I agree the best CSNY was with Reeves and Taylor. Dallas claims he was the first drummer to ever get royalties for a recording, although it probably didn't do him much good at the time.

I got an email yesterday from a musician friend of mine in LA about his passing. He was hit pretty hard by his death and said Dallas was a big part of the intervention that eventually turned his life around.

peace

RIP Dallas

Dallas rehearsing with CSN&Y at Shady Oak in Studio City (Hollywood Hills), California in 1969. This was Stephen Stills rental house (Peter Tork of the Monkees owned it) and where The Stones lived for a few weeks before the 1969 tour.

Dallas Taylor with CSNY and Tom Jones ripping it up.





peace

I believe this is the third musician that played with Neil Young that has died somewhat recently (following Rick Rosas and Tim Drummond).

Is Dallas one of the two other guys on the inner sleeve of MONKEY GRIP? If memory serves they all have their initials on their belt buckles.

Edit: Did he play at Altamont?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-01-20 06:39 by Glam Descendant.

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Glam Descendant

Edit: Did he play at Altamont?

Yes, Reeves and Taylor were both part of the CSNY band the Altamont concert.





Here's a link to a great interview with Dallas, where he mentions Altamont and talks about Keith a bit.


[www.classicbands.com]

peace

Another great interview with Dallas Taylor.

"David Geffen wouldn’t know a great song if it slapped him in the face."

"So, Neil wasn’t your and Stephen’s first choice…?
DT: No, we asked Phil Everly, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Steve Winwood, all of which turned us down. We asked Rick James to play bass but he said no.


4WS: Is it true that Bill Wyman wanted to join Manassas?
DT: Yes that is true. He told me this at his home in the south of France. He said “My feelings were hurt that you guys didn’t ask me to join. I would have quit the Stones to play music with you”. That is why Bill asked me to join him in the South of France to play on his solo records.

[www.4waysite.com]


peace



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-01-21 03:14 by Naturalust.

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Naturalust

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ash
Dallas was a fine drummer. I love(d) CSNY but they were at their best with Reeves and Taylor.
It's to Taylor's credit that when he turned his life around he worked hard to help people with addiction problems. Shame CSNY didn't go to him for help because they've been addicted to sabotaging their own careers since about 1970, maybe earlier.

Crosby was well on his way to prison and eventual sobriety by the time Dallas got clean in the mid-80's, I doubt he would have been much help during Crosby's darkest days. Obviously Nash and Young have been able to keep it together and my guess is that Stills will never change.

I agree the best CSNY was with Reeves and Taylor. Dallas claims he was the first drummer to ever get royalties for a recording, although it probably didn't do him much good at the time.

I got an email yesterday from a musician friend of mine in LA about his passing. He was hit pretty hard by his death and said Dallas was a big part of the intervention that eventually turned his life around.

peace

Richard Lewis the comedian spoke out yesterday and also credited Dallas Taylor with counseling him out of addiction. Not sure what kind.

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His friend, comedian Richard Lewis, Tweeted "Dallas Taylor died, but his legendary drummer status lives on, as do 1000's of recovering addicts he saved, [including] me."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-01-21 15:20 by triceratops.

Any comment from CSNY yet ? I've not seen anything.

I don't even see anything on Croz's twitter. Odd.

[twitter.com]

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Glam Descendant
I believe this is the third musician that played with Neil Young that has died somewhat recently (following Rick Rosas and Tim Drummond).

Is Dallas one of the two other guys on the inner sleeve of MONKEY GRIP? If memory serves they all have their initials on their belt buckles.

Edit: Did he play at Altamont?

Rick Rosas: [www.jambase.com]

Tim Drummond: [www.rollingstone.com]

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ash
Any comment from CSNY yet ? I've not seen anything.

Yes this is surprising and rather cold of CSN and Y, imo. Maybe they are still pissed at Dallas for suing them over the 4 Way Street reissue stuff. As much as he helped the groove and feel of the 3 records that made those guys HUGE, you would think they would have something to say about this guys passing.

Bad enough that they erased his image from the back cover of the original CSN record.

peace

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Naturalust

Maybe they are still pissed at Dallas for suing them over the 4 Way Street reissue stuff.

I thought Johny Barbata was the drummer on that album.

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Naturalust

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ash
Any comment from CSNY yet ? I've not seen anything.

Yes this is surprising and rather cold of CSN and Y, imo. Maybe they are still pissed at Dallas for suing them over the 4 Way Street reissue stuff. As much as he helped the groove and feel of the 3 records that made those guys HUGE, you would think they would have something to say about this guys passing.

Bad enough that they erased his image from the back cover of the original CSN record.

peace

When did he sue them? Here's an extract of them coming together to help him:

"After surviving his suicide attempt, Taylor was transferred to a rehab hospital. He began a new life of sobriety in 1984. Five years later, he was diagnosed with a terminal liver disease. His friends David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young, along with rock luminaries Don Henley and Eddie Van Halen, performed a benefit concert for him in 1990, raising enough money for a liver transplant." [america.aljazeera.com]

Curious...

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tatters

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Naturalust

Maybe they are still pissed at Dallas for suing them over the 4 Way Street reissue stuff.

I thought Johny Barbata was the drummer on that album.

You're right about that, my mistake:

"4WS: How did you feel when the only CSNY live performances officially released featured Johny Barbata and not you?
DT: How do you think I felt? It was the worst time of my life. My drug use escalated to a suicidal point. I was out at the peak of our success. They had the balls to ask me to show Barbata my drum parts, and like an @#$%&…I did."

I guess the suit was over the Boxed Set, not 4 Way Street.

"4WS: Why did you sue them and did you try and resolve the matter prior to suing them? If so, how did you try and resolve it amicably?
DT: It was Irving Azoff [former manager of the Eagles and record business mogul] that tried to negotiate a reasonable settlement. He’s the one that told me I was getting screwed on the Boxed Set and So Far. We where talking about millions of dollars that wasn’t going to my kids. As soon as the book came out, Graham pulled all my photos from the Boxed Set and refused to pay me for it. So, they left me no choice but to bring a lawyer. It was then that I found out how they really felt about me. They were not my friends.

4WS: Were you ever advised not to pursue your suit against CSNY?
DT: No, in fact people kept pushing me to sue. In hindsight, I see it was not worth the heartache.

4WS: You and Stephen Stills used to be rather close. Do you have any contact with him now?
DT: No in fact they seem to keep erasing me from t-shirts album covers, etc. They even tried to replace my drums but couldn’t."

peace

Millions of dollars? For a sideman with no songwriting credits? Seems a little delusional ....

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Naturalust

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tatters

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Naturalust

Maybe they are still pissed at Dallas for suing them over the 4 Way Street reissue stuff.

I thought Johny Barbata was the drummer on that album.

You're right about that, my mistake:

"4WS: How did you feel when the only CSNY live performances officially released featured Johny Barbata and not you?
DT: How do you think I felt? It was the worst time of my life. My drug use escalated to a suicidal point. I was out at the peak of our success. They had the balls to ask me to show Barbata my drum parts, and like an @#$%&…I did."

I guess the suit was over the Boxed Set, not 4 Way Street.

"4WS: Why did you sue them and did you try and resolve the matter prior to suing them? If so, how did you try and resolve it amicably?
DT: It was Irving Azoff [former manager of the Eagles and record business mogul] that tried to negotiate a reasonable settlement. He’s the one that told me I was getting screwed on the Boxed Set and So Far. We where talking about millions of dollars that wasn’t going to my kids. As soon as the book came out, Graham pulled all my photos from the Boxed Set and refused to pay me for it. So, they left me no choice but to bring a lawyer. It was then that I found out how they really felt about me. They were not my friends.

4WS: Were you ever advised not to pursue your suit against CSNY?
DT: No, in fact people kept pushing me to sue. In hindsight, I see it was not worth the heartache.

4WS: You and Stephen Stills used to be rather close. Do you have any contact with him now?
DT: No in fact they seem to keep erasing me from t-shirts album covers, etc. They even tried to replace my drums but couldn’t."

peace

Unfortunate...
You got some pretty mad skillz yaseff, Naturalust.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-01-22 09:07 by swiss.

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tatters
Millions of dollars? For a sideman with no songwriting credits? Seems a little delusional ....

I think Dallas had a piece of the pie, a bigger piece than most other drummers got in those days. I've heard he was a full fledged equal partner in the record royalties although obviously not the writers royalties. Maybe that contributed to his being let go and why Stills never stood up for him.

But I agree millions of dollars seems a bit exaggerated. Maybe Dallas didn't realize just how far the record business had eroded since he was involved.

peace