Jim Keltner

James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".

Career Keltner was inspired to start playing because of an interest in jazz, but the popularity of jazz was declining during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and it was the explosion of pop/rock in the mid-1960s that enabled him to break into recording work in Los Angeles. His first gig as a session musician was recording "She's Just My Style" for the pop group Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

Keltner's music career was hardly paying a living, and for several years at the outset he was supported by his wife. Toward the end of the 1960s, he finally began getting regular session work and eventually became one of the busiest drummers in Los Angeles. His earliest credited performances on record were with guitarist Gabor Szabo on the 1968 album Bacchanal. They were signed by Mo Ostin and recorded an album for Warner/Reprise originally titled MC Squared which has later been re-mastered and re-released in 2012 with the album title Tantalizing Colors. They appeared live that same year on the Hugh Hefner / Playboy Magazine television show Playboy After Dark, playing two songs: an original by MC Squared members Michael Clough and Michael Crowley titled "I Know You" and a version of the Fred Neil song "Everybody's Talkin'". Both Playboy After Dark performances with Keltner playing drums can currently be viewed on YouTube.

It was his work with Leon Russell playing on Delaney & Bonnie's Accept No Substitute that attracted the attention of Joe Cocker, who recruited Russell and everyone else he could out of the Delaney & Bonnie band for his Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour. Playing with Joe Cocker led to work in 1970 and 1971, on records by Carly Simon (No Secrets), Barbra Streisand (Barbra Joan Streisand), Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & Priscilla), George Harrison (The Concert for Bangladesh) and John Lennon (Imagine). Keltner performed with George Harrison throughout his solo career. He even worked on Harrison's final posthumous album Brainwashed.

Keltner played the role of the judge in the music video for George Harrison's 1976 Top 30 hit, "This Song".

In 1989, Keltner toured with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.

Equipment Keltner is an endorser of DW drums, hardware and pedals, Ahead drumsticks/gloves/griptape, Paiste Cymbals, Remo drumheads and world percussion and Roland electronics.

Little Village In 1987, Keltner, along with guitarist Ry Cooder and bassist Nick Lowe, played on John Hiatt's Bring the Family. Four years later the four musicians reunited as the band Little Village, recording an eponymous album.

In 1974, he played on most tracks on the Jack Bruce album Out of the Storm.

Other demonstrations of his style and range can be found in "Jealous Guy" from John Lennon's Imagine, "Watching the River Flow" by Bob Dylan, and the hit single "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright.

Keltner is the drummer on the Steely Dan tune "Josie" (released in 1977). He played a Vistalite drum kit for the track, the only time he used it on a session. In the DVD Steely Dan - Classic Albums: Aja, Donald Fagen states that in the bridge of the tune, Keltner overdubbed a 16th note based pattern played on a metal trash can lid. Keltner clarified that it was a garbage can lid with special rivets worked into it that he had received as a Christmas gift.

Keltner appears on Marc Jordan's 1979 album Blue Desert on the tracks "Twilight" and "Lost in The Hurrah".

1980s Keltner specialized in R&B, and developed a deceptively simple drumming style that melds a casual, loose feel with extraordinary precision.

Keltner played on the Saved and Shot of Love albums by Bob Dylan.

Keltner performed on many classic recordings by J. J. Cale and often worked with bassist Tim Drummond.

He guested on Sheryl Crow's 1996 self-titled album, on the track "The Book".

He played on Gillian Welch's album Revival, on the track "The Only One and Only".

Keltner played on the 1997 Bill Frisell album Gone, Just Like a Train with Viktor Krauss and toured as a member of the trio in support of the album. He also played on the 1999 Frisell album Good Dog, Happy Man and is pictured in the CD leaflet and back cover (Nonesuch 79536-2).

In 1999, he played on Fiona Apple's album When the Pawn... on the track "I Know."

2000s In 2000, Keltner toured with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on their "Tour of America".

In 2000, he was the drummer on Neil Young's album Silver & Gold.

In 2000, Keltner collaborated with Charlie Watts, drummer of the Rolling Stones, on an instrumental album titled The Charlie Watts–Jim Keltner Project. Watts played drums for each track, while Keltner contributed sequenced sounds and percussion. Tracks were named after famous drummers.

In 2002, he briefly joined Bob Dylan's band during the European gigs while its main drummer, George Receli, recuperated from a hand injury. Later in the year, Keltner played in Concert For George, a tribute to George Harrison a year following his death. Wearing a sweatshirt with a Bob Dylan logo, he reprised his role as the Wilburys' drummer, joining Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne for "Handle with Care." During that project and performance, he worked with Paul McCartney along with other percussionists, including Ringo Starr.

In 2003, he toured with Simon & Garfunkel in their Old Friends tour.

In 2004, he was one of the "Hot Licks" on Dan Hicks' Selected Shorts CD.

In 2006, he toured with T-Bone Burnett in The True False Identity tour and was featured on Jerry Lee Lewis's album Last Man Standing. He played on Mavis Staples's album We'll Never Turn Back, produced by Ry Cooder.

He also lent his drumming skills to the tracks on Richard Shapero's album titled Wild Animus: The Ram, recorded the same year.

In 2007, he appeared with Lucinda Williams on West. The album was listed No. 18 on Rolling Stone'''s list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007. He also played on Phish keyboardist's self titled debut album Page McConnell, released in 2007.

In 2008, Keltner appeared on Break up the Concrete by The Pretenders, on One Kind Favor by B. B. King and on Oasis's "The Boy with the Blues", a non-album-track from Dig Out Your Soul.

Also in 2008, Keltner participated in the production of the album Psalngs, the debut release of Canadian musician John Lefebvre.

In 2009, Keltner played drums on singer/songwriter Todd Snider's Don Was-produced album, The Excitement Plan and on the Nonesuch debut, Christina Courtin.2010s In 2010, Keltner produced Jerry Lee Lewis's Mean Old Man duets CD. He played drums on Fistful of Mercy's debut album, As I Call You Down, which one of the band's members, Dhani Harrison, described in an interview as the first project of his that he felt worthy to bring to Keltner, who was an old family friend (Dhani is the son of George Harrison). Keltner also played on The Union by Leon Russell and Elton John, produced by T-Bone Burnett and released on October 10, 2010. He also appeared on the eponymous Eric Clapton album, on 8 of the 14 tracks.

Joseph Arthur's 2011 album, The Graduation Ceremony, features Keltner on drums, reprising a partnership that began with the Fistful of Mercy project.

He has recorded twice with the indie band She & Him, on 2011's A Very She & Him Christmas and 2014's Classics.

He played drums on Michael Buble's 2011 Christmas album. The tracks are “All I Want for Christmas is You,” and “Blue Christmas.”

For the 2012 release, Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International, Keltner sat in a studio with Outernational covering Dylan's "When the Ship Comes In".

In 2012, he also played drums on John Mayer's "Something Like Olivia", the fifth track of the album Born and Raised.

That same year, he recorded with Italian instrumental band Sacri Cuori on their second record, Rosario.

In 2013, Keltner appears on the track "If I Were Me" from Sound City: Real to Reel with Dave Grohl, Jessy Greene and Rami Jaffee. Also, on "Our Love Is Here To Stay", a classic Gershwin jazz standard recorded by Eric Clapton for his album, Old Sock.

In 2014, Keltner played on Peter Himmelman's album The Boat That Carries Us.

In 2016, Keltner recorded drums for Neil Young's thirty-seventh studio album, Peace Trail. In 2016, Keltner also appeared on the Rolling Stones' CD Blue & Lonesome, playing percussion on "Hoo Doo Blues."

In 2017, Keltner played drums and percussion as well as co-producing Conor Oberst's Salutations album. Oberst described Keltner's production as "flawless".

In 2018, he played drums and percussion on Boz Scaggs' 19th album, Out of the Blues, and Eric Clapton's Happy Xmas.

In 2019, he played drums and percussion Foxygen's most recent album, Seeing Other People.

In 2019, Keltner played drums along with bassist Mike Watt for guitarist Mike Baggetta's Wall of Flowers album released in March. Keltner played drums on the original soundtrack for the movie The Irishman. The music was written by Robbie Robertson.

2020s Keltner plays drums on the song included on Mike Viola's 2020 album The Best of Mike Viola. Manga artist Naoki Urasawa, who wrote the original song, Following this he joined Dylan to complete his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour in Europe.

Collaborations + Jim Keltner collaborations