Hilly Michaels, also known as Hilly Boy Michaels, is an American drummer and musician who is best known for playing drums with Sparks in the 1970s. Then a New York-based session drummer, he performed on Sparks' 1976 album ''

Big Beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as the ...

'', which was produced by

Rupert Holmes Rupert Holmes (born David Goldstein; February 24, 1947) is a British-American composer, singer-songwriter, dramatist and author. He is widely known for the hit singles " Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" (1979) and " Him" (1980). He is also know ...

. Michaels was the only session musician to go on the North American tour with Ron and

Russell Mael Russell Craig Mael (born October 5, 1948) is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks (band), Sparks, which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his f ...

of Sparks. Michaels released two solo albums in the early 1980s, ''

Calling All Girls "Calling All Girls" is a song by the British rock band Queen, from the album ''Hot Space''. It was written by drummer Roger Taylor. It was the third US single from the album, released in the summer of 1982, where it peaked at number 60. It was ...

'' (1980) and ''Lumia'' (1981).

History

His first music experience came with playing in a band called Joy, featuring a young

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

. Later, Michaels played with artists such as The

Cherry Vanilla Cherry Vanilla (born Kathleen Dorritie; October 16, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, publicist, and actress. After working as an actress in Andy Warhol's ''Pork'', she worked as a publicist for David Bowie, before becoming a rock singer. ...

Band, Peach & Lee, Sparks,

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 ...

, The

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

/ Ronson Band, Dan Hartman,

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

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, and

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

. In 1979, Jake Hooker worked with Michaels to capture a million dollar deal with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

and a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

to promote ''

'' in 1980 with

Roy Thomas Baker Roy Thomas Baker (10 November 1946 – 12 April 2025) was an English record producer, songwriter and arranger who produced rock and pop songs. Life and career Baker was born in Hampstead, London on 10 November 1946. He began his career at De ...

as the producer. Michaels was in a relationship with

during the mid-1980s; they lived together in New York City. Michaels' songs can be heard in the movies ''

Caddyshack ''Caddyshack'' is a 1980 American sports comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis and Douglas Kenney, and starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight (his final film role), Michael O'Keefe and Bill ...

'' and '' Die Laughing''. In the movie '' Rollercoaster'', he appeared with Sparks, performing the songs "Big Boy" and "Fill'er Up". He has since worked as a producer and manager of marketing and development. He currently resides in Connecticut, and continues to record.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (1980) * ''Lumia'' (1981) * ''Pop This!'' (2010)

Singles

* "Calling All Girls" (1980) AUS #99 * "Shake It and Dance" (1981) AUS #69

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michaels, Hilly American male drummers Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut Sparks (band) members Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Drummers from Connecticut