B. J. Wilson
| B. J. Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Barrie James Wilson |
| Born | 18 March 1947 |
| Died | 8 October 1990 (aged 43) |
| Genres | Rock, Progressive rock, Psychedelic rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1962–1987 |
| Associated acts |
Procol Harum The Paramounts |
Barrie James Wilson (18 March 1947 – 8 October 1990) was an English rock drummer. He was best known as a member of Procol Harum for the majority of their original career from 1967 to 1977.
Wilson was born in Edmonton, London, and grew up in Ponders End In 1962 he joined a Southend on Sea group The Paramounts, who scored a hit with "Poison Ivy" in 1964. After follow up singles failed to chart, the group disbanded in 1966 and Wilson went into session drumming, playing with Cat Stevens and Lulu.
While he was busy with session drumming, former bandmate Gary Brooker had put together a new band, Procol Harum, and despite having a huge hit with "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (which featured jazz session drummer Bill Eyden) had difficulty getting a stable band for recording follow-up material. Eventually, Wilson joined Procol Harum in the summer of 1967, along with fellow ex-Paramount Robin Trower.
There is some confusion over exactly what Wilson's contributions were to Procol Harum's follow-up single "Homburg". It is commonly believed that he played all the drums on the track, but according to both Wilson himself and organist Matthew Fisher, he was presented with a half-completed drum track onto which he subsequently overdubbed a few drum rolls. Whatever the case, he had established himself as the full-time drummer for the group's debut album.
A 1974 Danish TV recording of the band was released as a 6-track "extra" on the 2009 DVD "Procol Harum in concert with the Danish National Concert Orchestra and Choir".
Although he lacked the name recognition as other great drummers of his generation, Wilson was voted Best Drummer in the popular Playboy Music Polls of the early 1970s. He declined an offer by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant to be the original drummer for Led Zeppelin.
After Procol Harum disbanded in 1977, Wilson played on Frankie Miller's Double Trouble album in 1978, and was a member of Joe Cocker's touring band between 1979 and 1984. Their concert in Calgary is featured on the DVD Joe Cocker Live (1981) and he is also featured in two Berlin concerts on the 2008 Joe Cocker DVD Cry Me A River (The Rockpalast Collection). BJ had been the drummer on Cocker's hit single, "With a Little Help from My Friends", recorded in 1968. In 1984 Wilson played briefly with Patrick Landreville, a former member of the 1960s cult band RHS, which included bandmates Bob Siebenberg (Supertramp), Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy) and John Boutell (Beauregard Ajax).
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