Johnny Barbata
| John Barbata | |
|---|---|
Barbata 2014
|
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| Background information | |
| Born |
April 1, 1945 Passaic, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, pop rock, rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Associated acts | |
John Barbata (born April 1, 1945) is an American drummer, born in Passaic, New Jersey, and raised in San Luis Obispo, California, active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata has served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jefferson Airplane (for its final album and tour only), Jefferson Starship (from 1974 to 1978), and Sammy & the Holly Rebs with guitarist Sam DeLuca. Already an established session drummer when he joined The Turtles, Barbata was one of the pioneering drummers who converted pop music rhythms from the down-beat rhythms of the 1950s to the off-beat rhythms that have dominated ever since.
Barbata was born on Easter, April 1, 1945, in Passaic, New Jersey, to Martina and Charles Barbata. He was raised in Saranac Lake, New York till the age of seven and later in Nutley, New Jersey. His mother was an Austrian emigrant who worked as a records keeper at a hospital and his father was a firefighter and mechanic. He was the youngest child of three, preceded by his older brother Chuck and sister Lauren. His first claim to fame came to him as a young infant when his mother found a man stranded in a boat that had run out of gas. The man was Albert Einstein. Einstein held the child as Barbata's mother delivered them to shore.
Barbata's interest in percussion began as he watched his older brother drumming in the marching band. After expressing interest in drums, Barbata's brother brought him to a friend's house where Barbata played on his first trap set. The first song he ever learned to play was "Put Another Nickel In" by Teresa Brewer.
At the age of 16, Barbata's family relocated for a brief stint to Rialto, California where Barbata formed his first band called the Velvatones. Soon after the family moved to San Luis Obispo, California where Barbata went to high school and followed in his older brother's footsteps and joined the marching band. The rudimentary rhythms and beats from Barbata's time in drum line heavily influenced his technique in later years. He soon went on to help form a band called the Ambassadors and bought his first set of drums. After playing gigs every weekend for 6 months, Barbata was approached by an instrumental surf rock group called the Sentinals to play drums. The Sentinals toured all over the country with acts such as the Righteous Brothers and released the album Big Surf! which produced a #1 West Coast surf hit called "Latin'ia".
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