Allan Schwartzberg

Allan Schwartzberg (born December 28, 1942) is an American drummer and record producer. He has previously been a member of the bands Mountain and The Group with No Name. He has experienced success as a prolific session musician, mostly through recordings made in the 1970s.^[1] He has also played on hits such as Gloria Gaynor's "Never Can Say Goodbye",^[2] and Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill". He has played with many musicians including John Lennon, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Roxy Music, Rod Stewart, Robert Palmer, Roberta Flack, Harry Chapin, Barbra Streisand, Deodato and Roger Daltrey.^[3][4]

Early life and education

Allan Schwartzberg was born in New York City and began playing the drums at the age of ten. He attended the Manhattan School of Music for three years, studying percussion (mallets only) with Morris Goldenberg; but he claims that his real education was listening to and memorizing the work of musicians including Max Roach, Elvin Jones and Philly Joe Jones. At 20 years old, he was the house drummer at the Half Note Club in downtown New York, performing with a variety of jazz musicians including Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Roy Eldridge, Bob Brookmeyer, Richie Kamuca, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Anita O'Day and Jimmy Rushing.^[5]

Partial discography

• 1972 – B.J. Thomas – Billy Joe Thomas
• 1973 – Dawn – Tie a Yellow Ribbon
• 1973 – Judy Collins – True Stories and Other Dreams
• 1973 – João Donato – Donato/Deodato
• 1973 – Pacific Gas & Electric – Starring Charlie Allen
• 1974 – James Brown – Reality
• 1974 – Mountain – Twin Peaks
• 1974 – Harry Chapin – Verities & Balderdash
• 1974 – Melissa Manchester – Bright Eyes
• 1974 – Van Morrison – Veedon Fleece – various tracks
• 1975 – Jimi Hendrix – Crash Landing – various tracks
• 1975 - Herbie Mann - Waterbed (Atlantic)
• 1975 – Gloria Gaynor – Never Can Say Goodbye
• 1976 – The Group With No Name – Moon Over Brooklyn
• 1976 – Alice Cooper – Alice Cooper Goes to Hell – various tracks
• 1976 – Dawn – To be with you
• 1977 – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel
• 1977 – Grace Jones – Portfolio
• 1977 – Frankie Valli – Lady put the Light out
• 1977 – Gloria Gaynor – Glorious
• 1977 – Meco – Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk
• 1977 – Alice Cooper – Lace and Whiskey
• 1977 – Herbie Mann – Herbie Mann and Fire Island
• 1977 – Dan Schafer – Baby Now That I've Found You
• 1977 – Maynard Ferguson – Conquistador
• 1977 – Carol Bayer Sager – Carol Bayer Sager
• 1977 – Neil Sedaka – A Song
• 1977 – Roberta Flack – Blue Lights in the Basement
• 1978 – Barbra Streisand – Songbird
• 1978 – Gene Simmons – Gene Simmons
• 1978 – The Brecker Brothers – Heavy Metal Be-Bop
• 1978 – Peter Criss – Peter Criss
• 1978 – Robert Palmer – Double Fun
• 1979 – Mike Oldfield – Platinum
• 1979 – Janis Ian – Night Rains
• 1979 – Nils Lofgren – Nils
• 1979 – Village People – Live and Sleazy
• 1980 – Roxy Music – Flesh and Blood – various tracks
• 1980 – Grace Slick – Dreams
• 1980 – David Matthews – Cosmic City
• 1981 – Kiss – Music from "The Elder" – drums on "I"
• 1982 – Nina Hagen – Nunsexmonkrock
• 1982 – Yoko Ono – It's Alright (I See Rainbows)
• 1983 – Kit Hain – School for Spies
• 1984 – Roger Daltrey – Parting Should Be Painless
• 1984 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono – Milk and Honey
• 1984 – Tom Verlaine – Cover
• 1985 – B.J. Thomas – Throwin' Rocks at the Moon
• 1986 – John Tropea – NYC Cats Direct
• 1987 – Tom Verlaine – Flash Light
• 1988 – Maureen McGovern – State of the Heart
• 1989 – Gloria Lynne – A Time for Love
• 1990 – Mark Murphy – What a Way to Go
• 1991 – Julian Lennon – Help Yourself
• 2002 – Rod Stewart – It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook

See also

• List of drummers

References

Sources

• Jim Payne, Harry Weinger – The Great Drummers of R&B Funk & Soul