James Gadson, Drummer for Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross, Dead at 86

James Gadson, a drummer and session musician who played with Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Kelly Clarkson, and Leonard Cohen, has passed away. Gadson had recently had surgery and a fall that hurt his back, as his wife, Barbara Gadson, told Rolling Stone. He was 86 years old when he passed away on Thursday, April 2.

You may not think you know the work of James Gadson, but if you’ve ever heard “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers, “Love Hangover” by Diana Ross, or “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, you probably know Gadson a little better than you think.

Although Gadson would go on to play some of music’s most danceable beats, he actually didn’t even know how to play R&B at first. It wasn’t until he moved out to LA, as he told Modern Drummer, that he started to find his groove.

It was there that, while playing constantly and teaching himself to read charts, he caught the attention of Motown Records.

“I remember the first Motown session I did, which was The Jacksons’ ‘Dancing Machine’,” Gadson told the outlet. “We were out there creating, and I put that 8th-note hop in, and they said, ‘Hey, do that again.’ They liked what I was doing, and they said, ‘Let’s keep him because he has [a] good time.’ And then the song became a hit.”

Friends and Family Pay Tribute to the Late Drummer

On Instagram, Roots drummer and frontman Questlove paid tribute to Gadson following his death.

“Some drummers are soulful. Some drummers are funky. Some drummer[s] are a rockin. Some drummers are swinging——but NO drummer, has impacted the art of breakbeat drummer[s] (danceable drums) like James Gadson.”

The drummer and producer then listed some of Gadson’s most iconic musical contributions.

“James Gadson is breakbeats defined. These are just a fraction of 60 years of quality drumming——even in the last 20 years he did some of his best work,” he continued. “The Beat Will Truly Go On…..& On….. Rest In Beats Legend!”

Gadson’s wife, Barbara, described her husband to Rolling Stone.

“He was a wonderful man,” she shared. “He was a great husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and one hell of a drummer.”

Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images