Herbie Lovelle
Herbie Lovelle (1 June 1924 - April 8, 2009) was an American drummer, who played jazz, R&B, rock, and folk. He was also a studio musician and an actor.
Lovelle's uncle was the drummer Arthur Herbert. Lovelle began his career with the trumpeter, singer and band leader Hot Lips Page in the late 1940s, then played in the 1950s with the saxophonist Hal Singer, Johnny Moore's Three Blazers and the pianist Earl Hines. Through working for both Lucky Thompson and Jimmy Rushing of Count Basie's Orchestra, he became house drummer at the Savoy Ballroom in New York City for much of the 1950s. He toured with the tenor saxophonist Arnett Cobb and the pianist Teddy Wilson in 1954. In 1959 he contributed to the pianist Paul Curry's album Paul Curry Presents the Friends of Fats, released on the Golden Crest label.
In the early years of television, he performed with the King Guion Orchestra on the Jerry Lester Show and the Ed Sullivan Show. In 1966, he was the lead drummer for the Sammy Davis, Jr. TV show.
Lovelle began playing more R&B in the 1950s and worked as a studio musician, often with Sam Taylor. He played on albums by Bob Dylan (The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan), Pearls Before Swine, Eric Andersen, David Blue, John Denver, Tom Rush, B. B. King, John Martyn (Stormbringer!), the Strangeloves, the McCoys, and the Monkees. He continued working as a studio musician well into the 1980s.
In 1976, he produced the first album by Stuff, which went platinum in Japan. He also played drums in the 1976 revival of Guys and Dolls.
From the 1980s on, he acted in film and television, including on Law & Order (1995–2004). His film credits include Bella (2006), Mitchellville (2004) (Sundance), The Rhythm of the Saints (2003), Don't Explain (2002), The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), Down to Earth (2001), Girlfight (2000), Maximum Risk (1996), Getting Away with Murder (1996), White Lies (1996), Bleeding Hearts (1994), The Paper (1994), Running on Empty (1988), Death Wish III (1985), A Man Called Adam (1966).
His TV credits include Into the Fire (2005), How Do You Spell Belief? (2005), Kingpin Rising (2005), Third Watch (2 episodes, 2005), and Law & Order TV (1995–2004).
Discography
With Rusty Bryant
- Rusty Bryant Returns (Prestige, 1969)
- With Buck Clayton
- Songs for Swingers (Columbia, 1958)
- Copenhagen Concert (SteepleChase, 1959 [1979])
With Art Farmer
- Early Art (New Jazz, 1954)
- With Johnny Hodges
- Blue Pyramid (Verve, 1966) with Wild Bill Davis
With Red Holloway
- The Burner (Presige, 1963)
- That Healin' Feelin' (Prestige, 1968)
With Lightning Hopkins
- Down Home Blues (Prestige 1964)
With Illinois Jacquet
- Spectrum (Argo, 1965)
- With Budd Johnson
- Budd Johnson and the Four Brass Giants (Riverside, 1960)
With Herbie Mann
- The Herbie Mann String Album (Atlantic, 1967)
- Glory of Love (CTI, 1967)
- With Buddy Tate
- Swinging Like Tate (Felsted, 1958)
- With Dicky Wells
- Trombone Four-in-Hand (Felsted, 1959)
With Jimmy Witherspoon
- Blues Around the Clock (Prestige, 1963)
With John Denver
- An Evening With John Denver (RCA, 1975)
External links
- Eugene Chadbourne, Herb Lovelle at Allmusic
- Herb Lovelle on IMDb
- Discogs, Herb Lovelle
- Artistdirect, Herb Lovelle
- Stuff, the Band, Video: Gil Markle talks with Herb Lovelle, about the milestone Stuff recording.