Allan Schwartzberg (born December 28, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. He has been a member of the rock band Mountain, Peter Gabriel's first solo band, toured with Brecker Brothers' Dreams, B. J. Thomas, Linda Ronstadt, Stan Getz band, and the Pat Travers band. He has experienced success as a prolific session musician, through recordings made from the 1970s through today.[1] He has also played on multi genre hits such as Gloria Gaynor "Never Can Say Goodbye",[2] considered the first disco record, James Brown's "Funky President", Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle", Tony Orlando & Dawn's Tie A Yellow Ribbon, Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill", The Spinners' "Workin' My Way Back to You", the Star Wars theme, and Rod Stewart's Great American Songbook series including the hit "What A Wonderful World". He has played with musicians and singers including John Lennon, Diana Ross, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Frank Sinatra, Roxy Music, Robert Palmer, Grace Slick, Roberta Flack, Barry Manilow, Harry Chapin, Barbra Streisand, Deodato, Frankie Valli, and Roger Daltrey.[3][4] He was also a frequent musician guest with Paul Shaffer's David Letterman Show band.
Allan Schwartzberg | |
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| Born | December 28, 1942 New York City, New York, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1969-present |
Early life and education edit
Allan Schwartzberg was born on December 28, 1942, in New York City, New York. He is Jewish and attended yeshiva as a child.[5] He began playing the drums at the age of ten and attended the Manhattan School of Music for three years, studying classical percussion. He claims that his real education was listening to and memorizing the work of musicians like Max Roach, Elvin Jones and Philly Joe Jones.
At the age of 20. he was the house drummer at the famed Half Note Club in downtown New York, performing with a variety of jazz musicians, including Stan Getz, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Roy Eldridge, Bob Brookmeyer, Richie Kamuca, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Anita O'Day, Chris Conner, and Jimmy Rushing.[6]
He was also the leader of the band on the nationally syndicated Geraldo Rivera Show, Goodnight America, which was considered the first rock / R&B "hip" band for a talk show.[citation needed]
Personal life edit
On November 12, 1972, Schwartzberg married Susan Schlossberg. They have two daughters, Samona and Nicole; and three grandchildren, Deven, Talia, and Quinton Cole.
Equipment edit
Schwartzberg endorses Yamaha drums, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads, and Vic Firth drumsticks.[citation needed]
Discography edit
1970s edit
1980s edit
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Flesh + Blood | Roxy Music |
| 1980 | Step Aside for a Lady | Cissy Houston |
| 1980 | Dreams | Grace Slick |
| 1980 | Connections | Richie Havens |
| 1981 | Music from "The Elder" | Kiss |
| 1981 | Scissors Cut | Art Garfunkel |
| 1982 | NunSexMonkRock | Nina Hagen |
| 1982 | It's Alright (I See Rainbows) | Yoko Ono |
| 1983 | School for Spies | Kit Hain |
| 1983 | In My Life | Patti Austin |
| 1984 | Parting Should Be Painless | Roger Daltrey |
| 1984 | Milk and Honey | John Lennon and Yoko Ono |
| 1984 | Cover | Tom Verlaine |
| 1985 | "Tears Are Falling" | Kiss |
| 1987 | Flash Light | Tom Verlaine |
1990s edit
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | What a Way to Go | Mark Murphy |
| 1991 | Help Yourself | Julian Lennon |
| 1994 | Roberta | Roberta Flack |
2000s edit
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II | Rod Stewart |
| 2004 | Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III | Rod Stewart |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Allan Schwartzberg: Discography". Stereosociety.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
- ^ "Allan Schwartzberg's home at the Stereo Society". Stereosociety.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
- ^ "Vic Firth Artist: ALLAN SCHWARTZBERG". Vicfirth.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Allan Schwartzberg - Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ The Allan Schwartzberg Interview (Podcast). Jake Feinberg Show. October 9, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2023 – via YouTube.
- ^ Allan Schwartzberg, archived from the original on July 26, 2014, retrieved August 20, 2014
Sources edit
External links edit
- Allan Schwartzberg at AllMusic
- Allan Schwartzberg discography at Discogs
