Birth name James Mack Van Eaton Genres Rock and roll Genre Rock and roll | Also known as J. M. Van Eaton Instruments Drums, vocals Record label Sun Record Company | |
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Born December 23, 1937 (age 79)
Memphis, Tennessee, United States ( 1937-12-23 ) Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, singer Years active Mid 1950s – 1960s, occasionally later Associated acts Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Lee Riley, Conway Twitty Similar Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Phillips, Booker T Laury | ||
James Mack Van Eaton (born December 23, 1937), known as Jimmy Van Eaton or J. M. Van Eaton, is an American rock and roll drummer, singer and record producer, best known for his recordings as drummer on sessions with Jerry Lee Lewis and others at Sun Records in the 1950s. Lewis referred to him as "...THE creative rock'n'roll drummer....".
Life and career
Van Eaton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and saved his pocket money to buy his first set of drums as a teenager. He formed his first band, The Jivin' Five, initially playing Dixieland jazz, before forming his first rock and roll band, The Echoes. They recorded a demo at the Sun Studio with engineer Jack Clement, who was impressed and recommended Van Eaton and the band's bass player Marvin Pepper to singer Billy Lee Riley, who was forming a touring band, the Little Green Men.
Van Eaton remained a member of Riley's band, performing mainly at weekends, and also toured with Conway Twitty. During the week he worked as a session musician at Sun, becoming the studio's in-house drummer between 1956 and 1959 and featuring on most of the label's rock and roll recordings. He featured most notably on Jerry Lee Lewis' records such as "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire", on which he regularly played with guitarist Roland Janes. As well as recordings by Lewis and Riley, Van Eaton featured on recordings by other Sun musicians including Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, Charlie Feathers, Bill Justis, and Ray Smith.
He played on some recordings for other Memphis labels, but after moving to Philadelphia with Billy Lee Riley's band married and drifted away from music in the 1960s. He worked in the vending machine business, and later as an investment banker. He also led a gospel group, The Seekers, in the 1970s, and returned to rockabilly music when he performed with the Sun Rhythm Section and worked again in the 1980s with Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1998, as J. M. Van Eaton, he released an album, The Beat Goes On, featuring his own songs and vocals as well as drums.