34 Years Ago Today, Music Lost “the Greatest Drummer in the World” Who Worked With Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye, and Journey

On this day (August 24) in 1992, iconic session drummer Larrie Londin died in Nashville, Tennessee. Just 48 years old, he had spent the previous four months in a coma after suffering a heart attack during a drum clinic at the University of North Texas in Denton. While you may have never heard of Londin, you have almost certainly heard him. He lent his considerable percussion talent to artists as varied as Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, Journey, Marvin Gaye, and B.B. King.

“Larrie Londin is the greatest drummer in the world, at least, that’s my opinion, and it should be yours too,” said Chet Atkins as he introduced Londin during the GUITAR MASTERS tour in 1991.

Today, we’re diving into the extraordinary (and unsung) career of Larrie Londin on the 34th anniversary of his passing.

Larrie Londin: the Accidental Drummer

Born Ralph Gallant on October 15, 1943, in Norfolk, Virginia, Larrie Londin began teaching himself to play drums at age 15 after stumbling onto the instrument by accident.

At the time, the teenager was working as a cook and dishwasher at a Norfolk nightclub that featured local bands.

“I moved a lot of beer kegs and I mopped up every night. One night the band’s drummer didn’t show up and I volunteered,” Londin told journalist James Byron Fox in an October 1991 interview. “I had never played a drum before but I figured it beat washing beer mugs and it paid better.”

At some point, he linked up with Eugene Bunten. The two performed together, presenting themselves as brothers under the stage names Lonnie and Larrie Londin.

Eventually, they joined the Headliners, the first white act to sign with a Motown record label.

Londin’s session career began after Funk Brothers drummer Benny Benjamin — who played on all Motown recordings at the time — suffered a heart attack.

Motown owner Berry Gordy asked Londin to fill in for Benjamin rather than cancel the day’s planned recording session.

“I was scared to death, I mean, here’s all these great soul artists, and I’m this white boy from Norfolk, Virginia,” Londin recalled to Fox. “I mean, you don’t get much whiter than that, you know?”

It worked out, and Londin played on recordings by The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and Jr. Walker & the All Stars.

From Motown to Nashville

By 1965, Larrie Londin had reportedly grown tired of the long hours and little recognition in Motown. So he joined the staff band on country singer Tennessee Ernie Ford’s TV show.

Next — at the suggestion of guitarist Chet Atkins and singer Jerry Reed — Londin decided to swap Motor City for Music City. (He had met Atkins during his time with the Headliners, according to his obituary in the Independent.)

So Londin moved to Nashville in 1969, quickly gaining a reputation as country music’s top session drummer.

Dedicated to his craft, he often practiced eight to 12 hours a day. He was also among the first drummers in the U.S. to record with electronic drums.

Other Musical Ventures

In 1968, Larrie Londin started recording with Elvis Presley and the Memphis Rhythm Section. You can hear his slick licks on the 1980 remix version of “Guitar Man” — the King’s final number-one hit.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1943, the Man Chet Atkins Called the World’s Greatest Drummer Was Born (But Most Don’t Even Know His Name)]

“You expected Elvis to be this God-like condescending kind of rock’n’roll legend…and he wasn’t like that at all,” Londin said. “He was a good ‘ol country boy — kind of shy. Moody… He loved jokes and he liked to fool around on the bus and stuff like that, but he was nothing like some of the crap that’s been written about him. At least I never saw it.”

Additionally, Londin spent the 1980s as a member of Rodney Crowell’s backing band, the Cherry Bombs.

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