Jimmy Van Eaton

James Mack Van Eaton (December 23, 1937 – February 9, 2024), known as Jimmy Van Eaton or J. M. Van Eaton, was an American rock and roll drummer, singer and record producer, best known for his recordings as the drummer in 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. He 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 Sun Studio with the engineer Jack Clement, who was impressed and recommended Van Eaton and the band's bass player, Marvin Pepper, to the 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 on weekends. He also toured with Conway Twitty.