Bobby Gregg
Encyclopedia
Robert J. Gregg (born 1929 or 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
) is a musician who has performed as a drum
mer and has also been a record producer. As a drum soloist and band leader he recorded one album and several singles, including one Top 40 single in the United States. But he is better known for his work as a drummer on several seminal 1960s songs, including Bob Dylan
's "Like a Rolling Stone
" and Simon and Garfunkel
's "The Sound of Silence
". He was also temporarily a member of The Hawks, which later became known as The Band
.
single, "The Jam - Part 1", which reached #14 on the Billboard
R&B chart
and #29 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart. The B-side of the single was "The Jam - Part 2". That same year, Gregg put another instrumental single titled "Potato Peeler", which didn't chart but became well known for containing the first ever known pinch harmonic
to be in a song. Guitarist Roy Buchanan
crafted the technique. The song bears a strong resemblance to an another instrumental record, "The Hunch" performed by The Bobby Peterson Quintet, which was released 3 years earlier in 1959. In 1963, he put out an album, released on Epic Records
, called Let's Stomp and Wild Weekend. In 1964 and 1965, he released the singles "Any Number Can Win", "MacDougal Street", "It's Good to Me" and "Charly Ba-Ba". He also acted as a record producer at this time, producing songs by Sun Ra
, Erma Franklin
, Richard "Popcorn" Wylie
and Frank Hunter. He sometimes played the drums on the records he produced.
's producer Tom Wilson wanted to see what Dylan's 1962 recording of "House of the Rising Sun" would sound like if the original solo acoustic guitar backing was replaced by a band playing electric instruments. Gregg was brought in to play drums on the replacement backing track.
In January 1965, Gregg got to work with Dylan as the drummer on the songs on the electric side of the album Bringing It All Back Home
. Gregg recorded the album takes of "Subterranean Homesick Blues
", "She Belongs to Me
", "Love Minus Zero/No Limit
", "Outlaw Blues
" and "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream
" on January 14, 1965 and recorded the album takes of "Maggie's Farm
" and "On the Road Again
" on January 15, 1965.
On June 15, 1965, when Dylan was ready to record "Like a Rolling Stone
", several of the musician from the Bringing It All Back Home sessions including Gregg were called on to back him. Thus, it is Gregg's pistol-like snare drum shot that opens the song, as well as the album Highway 61 Revisited
. "Like a Rolling Stone" eventually reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and in 2004 was named by Rolling Stone Magazine as the #1 song of all time.
The remainder of the Highway 61 Revisited album was recorded between July 29 and August 4, 1965. Gregg was the drummer for the July 29 and 30 sessions that produced "Tombstone Blues
", "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
" and "From a Buick 6
". He was also the drummer for the July 29 recording of "Positively 4th Street
", which was left off the Highway 61 Revisited album but became a Top 10 single in both the United States and the UK. At the August 2 session at which "Queen Jane Approximately
", "Highway 61 Revisited
", "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
" and "Ballad of a Thin Man
" were recorded, Sam Lay
played the drums in the early in the session due to Gregg's other commitments, with Gregg joining the session later. Although Lay is believed to be the drummer on the album take of "Highway 61 Revisited" and played on several takes of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", the album take of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is generally believed to be one that Gregg played on. Gregg was also the likely drummer for "Queen Jane Approximately
" and "Ballad of a Thin Man
", meaning that Gregg played on all the songs on the album except "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Desolation Row" (on which there is no drum part), and Gregg is the only drummer credited on the album.
In November 1965, Gregg joined the Hawks
, who were then backing Dylan on tour, when Hawks' drummer Levon Helm
left. He remained with the Hawks for about a month before being replaced by Sandy Konikoff. He recorded with Dylan in the November 30 sessions at which an early version of "Visions of Johanna
" and possibly the single release of "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
" were recorded. He also recorded with Dylan at the January 1966 Blonde on Blonde
sessions at which "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
" was recorded, as well as several other songs which either did not make the album or were rerecorded later for the album, including "I'll Keep It With Mine
", which was eventually released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.
and "Like a Rolling Stone
" decided to experiment with electrifying the Simon & Garfunkel song "The Sound of Silence
". An acoustic version of "The Sound of Silence" had been released on the Simon & Garfunkel album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM. As he did with Dylan's version of "The House of the Rising Sun
", Wilson employed a band to record an electric backing track for the song, without Paul Simon
's or Art Garfunkel
's knowledge. Bobby Gregg was once again the drummer Wilson employed in the band creating this backing track. The version of "The Sound of Silence" incorporating the electric band backing track became a #1 hit and was released on the Simon & Garfunkel album Sounds of Silence
. It was also listed by Rolling Stone Magazine as the #156 song of all time.
In 1967, Gregg was the drummer backing Peter, Paul and Mary
for their album The Peter, Paul and Mary Album
. In 1971, he backed John Cale
and Terry Riley
on their album Church of Anthrax
.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
) is a musician who has performed as a drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
mer and has also been a record producer. As a drum soloist and band leader he recorded one album and several singles, including one Top 40 single in the United States. But he is better known for his work as a drummer on several seminal 1960s songs, including Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "Like a Rolling Stone
Like a Rolling Stone
"Like a Rolling Stone" is a 1965 song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originate in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England...
" and Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
's "The Sound of Silence
The Sound of Silence
"The Sound of Silence" is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music duo Simon & Garfunkel to popularity. It was written in February 1964 by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. An initial version preferred by the band was remixed and sweetened, and has become...
". He was also temporarily a member of The Hawks, which later became known as The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
.
Early career
Gregg first attracted attention by 1955 as the only white member of the otherwise all-black group Steve Gibson and the Red Caps. By 1962, he fronted Bobby Gregg and His Friends for an instrumentalInstrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
single, "The Jam - Part 1", which reached #14 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
and #29 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. The B-side of the single was "The Jam - Part 2". That same year, Gregg put another instrumental single titled "Potato Peeler", which didn't chart but became well known for containing the first ever known pinch harmonic
Pinch harmonic
A pinch harmonic or pick harmonic is a guitar technique in which the player's thumb or index finger on the picking hand slightly catches the string after it is picked, canceling the fundamental of the string, and letting one of the overtones dominate. This results in a high pitched sound...
to be in a song. Guitarist Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still...
crafted the technique. The song bears a strong resemblance to an another instrumental record, "The Hunch" performed by The Bobby Peterson Quintet, which was released 3 years earlier in 1959. In 1963, he put out an album, released on Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, called Let's Stomp and Wild Weekend. In 1964 and 1965, he released the singles "Any Number Can Win", "MacDougal Street", "It's Good to Me" and "Charly Ba-Ba". He also acted as a record producer at this time, producing songs by Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
, Erma Franklin
Erma Franklin
Erma Franklin was an American gospel and R&B singer. She was the oldest daughter of Barbara and the Reverend C. L. Franklin and the elder sister of Aretha Franklin...
, Richard "Popcorn" Wylie
Richard "Popcorn" Wylie
Richard Wayne Wylie , often known as Popcorn Wylie, was an African-American pianist, bandleader, songwriter, occasional singer, and record producer who was influential in the early years of Motown Records and was later known for his work on many records in the Northern soul genre.-Life and...
and Frank Hunter. He sometimes played the drums on the records he produced.
Work with Bob Dylan
In 1964, as an experiment, Bob DylanBob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's producer Tom Wilson wanted to see what Dylan's 1962 recording of "House of the Rising Sun" would sound like if the original solo acoustic guitar backing was replaced by a band playing electric instruments. Gregg was brought in to play drums on the replacement backing track.
In January 1965, Gregg got to work with Dylan as the drummer on the songs on the electric side of the album Bringing It All Back Home
Bringing It All Back Home
Bringing It All Back Home is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's fifth studio album, released in March 1965 by Columbia Records. The album is divided into an electric and an acoustic side. On side one of the original LP, Dylan is backed by an electric rock and roll band - a move that further alienated...
. Gregg recorded the album takes of "Subterranean Homesick Blues
Subterranean Homesick Blues
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, originally released in 1965 as a single on Columbia Records, catalogue 43242. It appeared 19 days later as the lead track to the album Bringing It All Back Home. It was Dylan's first Top 40 hit, peaking at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also...
", "She Belongs to Me
She Belongs to Me
"She Belongs to Me" is a song by Bob Dylan, and was first released as the second track on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. It was one of the first anti-love songs and one of Dylan's first of many songs that describe a "witchy woman"...
", "Love Minus Zero/No Limit
Love Minus Zero/No Limit
"Love Minus Zero/No Limit" is a song written by Bob Dylan for his fifth studio album Bringing It All Back Home, released in 1965 . The song was originally written as a tribute to Dylan's future wife Sara Lowndes...
", "Outlaw Blues
Outlaw Blues
Outlaw Blues is a 1977 film that stars Susan Saint James and Peter Fonda. It was directed by Richard T. Heffron and is rated PG in the USA. Many of the songs were sung by Fonda and three of songs from the film were written by Hoyt Axton.-Plot summary:...
" and "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream
Bob Dylan's 115th Dream
"Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home. In 2005, Mojo Magazine rated the song as the #68 greatest Bob Dylan song....
" on January 14, 1965 and recorded the album takes of "Maggie's Farm
Maggie's Farm
"Maggie's Farm" is a song written by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 15, 1965, and released on the album Bringing It All Back Home on March 22 of that year...
" and "On the Road Again
On the Road Again (Bob Dylan song)
"On the Road Again" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan for his album Bringing It All Back Home. The song appears on the album's electric first side, between "Outlaw Blues" and "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream"...
" on January 15, 1965.
On June 15, 1965, when Dylan was ready to record "Like a Rolling Stone
Like a Rolling Stone
"Like a Rolling Stone" is a 1965 song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originate in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England...
", several of the musician from the Bringing It All Back Home sessions including Gregg were called on to back him. Thus, it is Gregg's pistol-like snare drum shot that opens the song, as well as the album Highway 61 Revisited
Highway 61 Revisited
Highway 61 Revisited is the sixth studio album by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was released in August 1965 by Columbia Records. On his previous album, Bringing It All Back Home, Dylan devoted Side One of the album to songs accompanied by an electric rock band, and Side Two to solo acoustic numbers...
. "Like a Rolling Stone" eventually reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and in 2004 was named by Rolling Stone Magazine as the #1 song of all time.
The remainder of the Highway 61 Revisited album was recorded between July 29 and August 4, 1965. Gregg was the drummer for the July 29 and 30 sessions that produced "Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
"Tombstone Blues" is the second track off Bob Dylan's album Highway 61 Revisited. Musically it is a straightforward blues song, however the lyrics are typical of Dylan's free-associate surreal style of the period, with such lines as "the sun's not yellow, it's chicken".It was performed by Marcus...
", "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
"It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" is a song written by Bob Dylan that was originally released on his seminal album Highway 61 Revisited, and also included on the compilation album Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits 2 that was released in Europe. An alternate version of the song appears on...
" and "From a Buick 6
From a Buick 6
"From a Buick 6" is a song by Bob Dylan from his album Highway 61 Revisited, which was also released as a single on the B-side of Positively 4th Street...
". He was also the drummer for the July 29 recording of "Positively 4th Street
Positively 4th Street
"Positively 4th Street" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan, first recorded by Dylan in New York City on July 29, 1965. It was released as a single by Columbia Records on September 7, 1965, reaching #1 on Canada's RPM chart, #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and #8 on the UK Singles Chart...
", which was left off the Highway 61 Revisited album but became a Top 10 single in both the United States and the UK. At the August 2 session at which "Queen Jane Approximately
Queen Jane Approximately
"Queen Jane Approximately" is a song from Bob Dylan's 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. It was released as a single as the B-side to "One of Us Must Know " in January 1966...
", "Highway 61 Revisited
Highway 61 Revisited (song)
"Highway 61 Revisited" is the title track of Bob Dylan's 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. It was also released as the B-side to the single "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" later the same year...
", "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan. It was originally recorded on August 2, 1965 and released on the album Highway 61 Revisited. The song was later released on the compilation album Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol...
" and "Ballad of a Thin Man
Ballad of a Thin Man
"Ballad of a Thin Man" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan, released on the album Highway 61 Revisited in 1965.-Meaning:"Ballad of a Thin Man" comments on a conventional "Mr. Jones", who walks into a room of intentionally bizarre circus freaks and doesn't "know what's happening".The...
" were recorded, Sam Lay
Sam Lay
Sam Lay is an American drummer and vocalist, who has been performing since the late 1950s.-Life and career:...
played the drums in the early in the session due to Gregg's other commitments, with Gregg joining the session later. Although Lay is believed to be the drummer on the album take of "Highway 61 Revisited" and played on several takes of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", the album take of "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is generally believed to be one that Gregg played on. Gregg was also the likely drummer for "Queen Jane Approximately
Queen Jane Approximately
"Queen Jane Approximately" is a song from Bob Dylan's 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. It was released as a single as the B-side to "One of Us Must Know " in January 1966...
" and "Ballad of a Thin Man
Ballad of a Thin Man
"Ballad of a Thin Man" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan, released on the album Highway 61 Revisited in 1965.-Meaning:"Ballad of a Thin Man" comments on a conventional "Mr. Jones", who walks into a room of intentionally bizarre circus freaks and doesn't "know what's happening".The...
", meaning that Gregg played on all the songs on the album except "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Desolation Row" (on which there is no drum part), and Gregg is the only drummer credited on the album.
In November 1965, Gregg joined the Hawks
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, who were then backing Dylan on tour, when Hawks' drummer Levon Helm
Levon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
left. He remained with the Hawks for about a month before being replaced by Sandy Konikoff. He recorded with Dylan in the November 30 sessions at which an early version of "Visions of Johanna
Visions of Johanna
"Visions of Johanna" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. Dylan first recorded the song in New York City in November 1965, under the working title of "Freeze Out", but was dissatisfied with the results...
" and possibly the single release of "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
"Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" was a 1965 single by American rock artist Bob Dylan. It reached #58 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #17 on the UK chart in January 1966...
" were recorded. He also recorded with Dylan at the January 1966 Blonde on Blonde
Blonde on Blonde
Blonde on Blonde is American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's seventh studio album, released in May or June 1966 on Columbia Records and produced by Bob Johnston. Recording sessions commenced in New York in October 1965, with a plethora of backing musicians, including members of Dylan's live backing...
sessions at which "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
"One of Us Must Know " is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan. It is the fourth track on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde, and was released as the album's first single that February. The song is an emotional confession of misconnects and apologies from the singer to a woman who has tragically...
" was recorded, as well as several other songs which either did not make the album or were rerecorded later for the album, including "I'll Keep It With Mine
I'll Keep It with Mine
"I'll Keep It with Mine" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1964, first officially released by folk singer Judy Collins as a single in 1965. Dylan attempted to record the song for his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde.-Dylan's Version:...
", which was eventually released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.
Work with other artists
In 1965 Tom Wilson, who had produced Dylan's Bringing It All Back HomeBringing It All Back Home
Bringing It All Back Home is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's fifth studio album, released in March 1965 by Columbia Records. The album is divided into an electric and an acoustic side. On side one of the original LP, Dylan is backed by an electric rock and roll band - a move that further alienated...
and "Like a Rolling Stone
Like a Rolling Stone
"Like a Rolling Stone" is a 1965 song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originate in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England...
" decided to experiment with electrifying the Simon & Garfunkel song "The Sound of Silence
The Sound of Silence
"The Sound of Silence" is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music duo Simon & Garfunkel to popularity. It was written in February 1964 by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. An initial version preferred by the band was remixed and sweetened, and has become...
". An acoustic version of "The Sound of Silence" had been released on the Simon & Garfunkel album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM. As he did with Dylan's version of "The House of the Rising Sun
The House of the Rising Sun
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans...
", Wilson employed a band to record an electric backing track for the song, without Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's or Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...
's knowledge. Bobby Gregg was once again the drummer Wilson employed in the band creating this backing track. The version of "The Sound of Silence" incorporating the electric band backing track became a #1 hit and was released on the Simon & Garfunkel album Sounds of Silence
Sounds of Silence (album)
Sounds of Silence is the second album by Simon and Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, "The Sound of Silence", which originally was released as "The Sounds of Silence"...
. It was also listed by Rolling Stone Magazine as the #156 song of all time.
In 1967, Gregg was the drummer backing Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
for their album The Peter, Paul and Mary Album
The Peter, Paul and Mary Album
The Peter, Paul and Mary Album is the sixth studio album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in 1966 ....
. In 1971, he backed John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
and Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
on their album Church of Anthrax
Church of Anthrax
Church of Anthrax is a collaboration between John Cale and Terry Riley. The record was released in February 1971 by Cale's record company, Columbia Records, nearly a year after the material was recorded.-Track listing:...
.