Joel O'Brien

Joel O'Brien was a multi-instrumentalist -- though mostly recognized as a drummer, in terms of recordings -- whose career took him from a busy local R&B band to the top circles of pop/rock session work in the decade that followed. He was born in New York City in 1943, the son of an entertainment executive (and later radio disc jockey) and an actress, and he started in music with lessons on the piano at an early age. He flirted with acting as an interest for a time, and also worked as an apprentice film editor, but he showed his real interest in his choice of an education after...