Brie Howard-Darling (also known and credited as Brie Darling, Brie Howard, Brie Brandt and Brie Berry; born August 9, 1949) is an American drummer, singer, percussionist, and songwriter. She has recorded with such recording artists as

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

, ELO,

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

Janiva Magness Janiva Magness (born January 30, 1957) is an American Grammy Award nominated blues, soul, and Americana singer, songwriter, and author. To date she has released 16 albums. The Blues Foundation named Magness the B.B. King Entertainer of the Yea ...

, and

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

. She has toured extensively with

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (, August 18, 1943 – June 27, 2024) was an American actor, musician, and painter. He became known on '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' its spin-off '' Fernwood 2 Night,'' and '' America 2 Night.'' Other notable roles included ...

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English pop singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known f ...

, Jack Wagner,

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

, Robbie Nevil, and

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

. She has been a band member of Fanny, American Girls, Boxing Gandhis, Fanny Walked The Earth, and

Cherie Currie Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American singer, musician, actress, and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of the Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. She later became a solo artist. Currie and h ...

& Brie Darling.

Early life

Howard-Darling was born (August 9, 1949) in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

, and raised in

Folsom, California Folsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. The population was 80,454 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 72,203 residents at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. History The Nisenan tribe of Ind ...

, a suburb of

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to parents Elmo Robert Berry and Angeles Calamaya. She began performing professionally at fourteen years old with the band, ''The Kee-Notes'', and became a member of the Sacramento Musician's Union in 1964. In 1965 the band recorded three songs for Esar Records, making Darling one of the first female rock drummers to record rock music. She credits her younger and older brothers as her greatest early influences, as they were both musicians, and there was a drum kit in their living room where she could practice. In 1966, she joined the all-female Sacramento band The Svelts, which would later evolve into Fanny, becoming the first all-woman band to be signed to a major record label to record a full album. In 1967, Howard-Darling married Mike Brandt. She gave birth to her daughter Brandi Brandt in 1968.

Career

Fanny

Howard-Darling joined former band members in Los Angeles in 1970, forming a short-lived lineup of the all-female band Fanny as the lead singer. A decision was made to change the number of band members from five members to four creating more of a ''Fab Four'' image. She left the band and pursued other musical ventures. Howard-Darling rejoined Fanny in 1974, recording ''Rock and Roll Survivors'' released on

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

. The first single, "I've Had It" reached number 79 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. Their second single, ''Butter Boy'', spent 11 weeks on the

peaking at number 29 on April 5, 1975. Fanny was the first all-woman rock band to release an album on a major label. After a U.S. tour promoting the album, Darling (Brie Howard) left the band. David Bowie said of Fanny in 1999 to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'':

They were one of the finest ... rock bands of their time. They were extraordinary: They wrote everything ... they were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody's ever mentioned them. They're as important as anybody else who's ever been, ever; it just wasn't their time.

In 2018, original band members Jean Millington (bass),

June Millington June Elizabeth Millington (born April 14, 1948) is a Filipina-American guitarist, songwriter, producer, educator, and actress. Millington was the founder of the music groups the Svelts and Wild Honey, before becoming co-founder and lead guitar ...

(lead guitar), and Howard-Darling reunited as Fanny Walked the Earth, releasing an

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous album, their first recording together in more than 40 years. It features several female musicians who have credited Fanny with helping open the door for them decades ago, among them the Runaways’

, the Go-Go's

Kathy Valentine Kathryn Valentine (born January 7, 1959) is an American musician who is the bassist for the rock band the Go-Go's. She has maintained a career in music through songwriting, recording, performing and touring as well as additional academic and cre ...

, the Bangles’

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. With Debbi Peterson and Vicki Peterson, she founded the Bangles in 1981. Their debut album, ''All Over the Place (The Bangles album), All Over ...

, Vicki and

Debbi Peterson Deborah Mary Peterson (born on August 22, 1961) is an American musician and the drummer of the band The Bangles. She sang lead vocals on two of the band's released singles, "Going Down to Liverpool" (1984) and " Be with You" (1989). She is the y ...

, veteran rock singer and musician

Genya Ravan Genya Ravan (born Genyusha Zelkowitz; April 19, 1940), also known as Goldie, is an American rock music, rock singer and music producer. She was lead singer of the Escorts, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive. Early life Genyusha Zel ...

and former Fanny member Patti Quatro, the sister of

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" ...

. Howard-Darling was featured prominently in the 2021 documentary film '' Fanny: The Right to Rock'', directed by Bobbi Jo Hart. The film presents a history of the band from their origins through Fanny Walked the Earth.

American Girls

American Girls (band) were an American

all-female band An all-female band is a musical ensemble, musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universa ...

based in

, United States.Golstein, Patrick (27 July 1986)
Pop Eye
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' The band consisted of Howard-Darling (vocals, drums, percussion), Hilary Shepard (vocals, percussion), DB Tressler (guitar), Miiko Watanabe (bass, backing vocals) and Teresa James (keyboards, backing vocals). Original members included Louise Goffin (rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals) and

Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury (1978 film), The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various films across the ...

(keyboards). American Girls released one album in 1986 titled ''American Girls''. The video for their single "American Girl" received some airplay on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. Their song "Androgynous" appeared in the 1986 film '' Tough Guys'', and the song "American Girl" appeared on the soundtrack for ''

Out of Bounds In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. The legality of going out of bounds (intentionally or not), and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. Sports that use this term include Am ...

''. They also opened for

The Lords of the New Church The Lords of the New Church were a British-American rock music, rock band. A Supergroup (music), supergroup, the line-up originally consisted of four musicians from 1970s punk rock, punk bands. This line-up comprised vocalist Stiv Bators (ex-th ...

on 1986 tour dates.

Miles Copeland III Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producing ...

(brother of the Police's

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is an American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the British rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with the Polic ...

) was the band's manager.

Touring drummer, percussionist and vocalist

Aside from Howard-Darling's own music projects and bands, she has toured extensively with other successful recording artists, most notably with

and

. Starting in 1990, she toured with King as a percussionist and vocalist for five years in the U.S. and internationally. Darling performed with Jimmy Buffett on five tours over a span of five years and with Robert Palmer for two U.S. tours and one international tour.

Boxing Gandhis

Howard-Darling and her husband Dave Darling are the founders of Boxing Gandhis, who were signed to the record label Mesa in 1993. The band has recorded three albums. They climbed the charts with a number 5 hit on the Billboard Triple A (Adult Album Alternative) chart with the song ''If You Love Me (Why Am I Dyin')'' from their debut album after touring the US as opening act for the

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known as DMB) is an American rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia. The band's lineup consists of Dave Matthews (lead vocals, guitar), Stefan Lessard (bass), Carter Beauford (drums), Tim Reynolds (lead guitar), R ...

and Big Head Todd and the Monsters. The song's music video also garnered a

Billboard Music Award The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a Billboard charts, music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annu ...

for "Best Jazz/Adult Contemporary" which was directed by Brian Lockwood (director). ''If You Love Me (Why Am I Dyin')'' was featured in Episode 3 of the 2011 season of the HBO Original Series

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...

. *''Boxing Gandhis'' (1994, Mesa Records) *''Howard'' (1996, Atlantic Records) *''Culture War'' (2019, Blue Elan Records)

Fanny Walked The Earth

In 2016, Howard-Darling joined a live performance by her former Fanny bandmates June and Jean Millington. This inspired the formation of a new band called Fanny Walked the Earth. An album of all-new songs with the same title was released in March 2018. The album marks the first time June, Jean, and Brie all recorded at the same time in over 40 years.

Cherie Currie and Brie Darling

Currie and Howard-Darling (credited as Brie Darling) recorded ''The Motivator'', a full-length album that was released on August 2, 2019, on Blue Elan Records.

Filmography

Acting

* 1982 '' Android'' as Maggie * 1986 ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...

'' as Hooker * 1987 '' The Return of Bruno'' as The Singers * 1987 ''Alexander O'Neal: Criticize'' as Drummer * 1988 ''

Tapeheads ''Tapeheads'' is a 1988 comedy film directed by Bill Fishman and starring John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Clu Gulager, Doug McClure, Jessica Walter, Mary Crosby, Sam Moore and Junior Walker. The film was produced by Michael Nesmith, who briefly appea ...

'' as Flygirl * 1989 '' The Runnin' Kind'' as "Thunder" * 1990 ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'' as Congas * 1994 '' Somebody to Love'' as Band Member

Music videos and television appearances

Howard-Darling has performed with a variety of recording artists on television shows such as ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'', ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...

'', ''

The David Letterman Show ''The David Letterman Show'' is an American morning talk show that was hosted by David Letterman on NBC. It originally aired from June 23 to October 24, 1980. Originally, the series lasted 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward. Bac ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'', ''

Don Kirshner's Rock Concert ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' is an American television music variety show that ran during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Don Kirshner and syndicated to television stations, initially through Viacom Enterprises, and later ...

'', '' The Midnight Special'', ''

The Joan Rivers Show ''The Joan Rivers Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Joan Rivers. The show ran for four seasons, from September 5, 1989, to December 26, 1993. History The show aired for five seasons and ended in December ...

'', and ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' is an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland in 1961 before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went i ...

''. * 1986 Robbie Nevil - " C'est la Vie" - Music Video - Percussion and Vocals - MTV Music Video Award - Best Cinematography * 1986 Robbie Nevil - "

Wot's It To Ya "Wot's It to Ya" is the third single by American musician Robbie Nevil from his self-titled debut album, released as a single in May 1987 by Manhattan Records. It peaked at number 10 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Lyrics and writing The so ...

" - Music Video - Percussion and Vocals * 1986 Robbie Nevil - "

Dominoes Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called ''Pip (counting), pips ...

" - Music Video - Percussion and Vocals * 1987

Deniece Williams June Deniece Williams (née Chandler; born June 3, 1950) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great Soul music, soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs "Free (Deniece Williams song), Free", "Silly (song ...

- "Never Say Never" - Music Video - Percussion and Vocals * 1987

Alexander O'Neal Alexander O'Neal (born November 15, 1953) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi. O'Neal came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a solo artist, with eleven top 40 singles on the US R&B char ...

- "Criticize" - Music Video - Percussion and Vocals * 1990 A'me Lorain - "Whole Wide World" - Music Video - Percussion * 1990

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

- "

Wild Women Do "Wild Women Do" is a song by American singer-songwriter Natalie Cole. The song was written by Greg Prestopino, Sam Lorber, and Matthew Wilder for the 1990 romantic comedy film ''Pretty Woman'' and was included on the film's soundtrack as the op ...

" - Music Video - Percussion and Vocals * 1990

- ''In Concert'' Televised Concert - Percussion and Vocals * 1991 Robbie Nevil - "Just Like You" - Music Video - Percussion and Vocals * 1993 Boxing Gandhis - "If You Love Me (Why Am I Dyin')" - Music Video - Percussion and Vocals -

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

Music Award * 1993 ''Culture Clash'' TV Series - Band Member * 2000 Don't Forget Your Toothbrush - Band Member * 2017 Women of Rock Oral History Project at the Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College

Nightline - Michael Jackson ''Thriller'' album

"Nightline", a song co-written by Howard-Darling,

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing on Wilson Phillips' debut and sophomore albums, '' Wilson Phillips'' and '' Shadows and Light'', ...

and

Davey Faragher David Allen "Davey" Faragher (born August 18, 1957) is an American bass guitarist from Redlands, California. Faragher's career took off and received critical notice as a founding member of the nineties band Cracker, and his subsequent work wit ...

, was recorded by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

and slated to be released on Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'' album in 1982 but was pulled before the release. The song had been recently recorded and released by

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American retired jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, sh ...

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

, and

Ellen Foley Ellen Foley (born June 5, 1951) is an American singer and actress who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the hit NBC sitcom '' Night Court'' during its second season. In music, she has released five solo albums, bu ...

Brie Darling Cakes

Howard-Darling began creating artistic cakes in 2010. Darling invented the process of baking leopard print cakes.

Cake Wars

In 2016, she and her granddaughter, Storm Sixx, won 1st place and $10,000 as contestants in Season 2 of the Food Network's ''

Cake Wars ''Cake Wars'' is an American reality competition series that was first broadcast on June 29, 2015, aired on Food Network. Jonathan Bennett hosted the competition, where four bakers face off to have their cakes featured in a special event, in ...

'', where four bakers face off to have their cakes featured in a special event.

Discography

References

External links

* *
Brie Howard discography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard-Darling, Brie Living people American women drummers American funk singers American rock drummers 1949 births 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American women musicians Fanny (band) members American Girls (band) members 21st-century American drummers 21st-century American women musicians American women rock singers Drummers from California