James Mack Van Eaton (born December 23, 1937), known as Jimmy Van Eaton or J. M. Van Eaton, is an American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

drummer, singer and record producer, best known for his recordings as the drummer in sessions with

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

and others at

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

in the 1950s. Lewis referred to him as "THE creative rock 'n' roll drummer".Mather, Shaun
"Jimmy Van Eaton".
''Black Cat Rockabilly''. Retrieved 19 August 2016.

Life and career

Van Eaton was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

. 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 Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

, before forming his first rock-and-roll band, the Echoes. They recorded a demo at

Sun Studio Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label ...

with the

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, and record and film producer. Biography Early life Raised and educated in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Clement was performing at an early age, ...

, who was impressed and recommended Van Eaton and the band's bass player, Marvin Pepper, to the singer

Billy Lee Riley Billy Lee Riley (October 5, 1933 – August 2, 2009) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. His most memorable recordings include "Rock With Me Baby", "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll"Variously spelled as "...Rock & Roll ...

, who was forming a touring band, the Little Green Men.Burke, Ken
"Making Sure the Beat Goes On: The J.M. Van Eaton Interview".
''Rockabilly Hall of Fame''. Retrieved 19 August 2016.Henrit, Bob
"Groovers & Shakers: J. M. Van Eaton".
''MikeDolbear.com''. Retrieved 19 August 2016. Van Eaton remained a member of Riley's band, performing mainly on weekends. He also toured with

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

. During the week he worked as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

at Sun, becoming the studio's in-house drummer from 1956 to 1959 and performing on most of the label's rock-and-roll recordings. He featured notably contributed to records by Jerry Lee Lewis, such as "

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (sometimes rendered "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On") is a song written by Dave "Curlee" Williams and sometimes also credited to James Faye "Roy" Hall. The song was first recorded by Big Maybelle, though the best- ...

", on which he regularly played with the guitarist

Roland Janes Roland E. Janes (August 20, 1933 – October 18, 2013) was an American rockabilly guitarist and record producer, who was active at Sun Records between 1956 and 1963. Biography He was born in Brookings, Clay County, Arkansas, the second youngest ...

. In addition to recordings by Lewis and Riley, Van Eaton performed on recordings by other Sun musicians, including

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, soul, and gospel ...

Charlie Feathers Charles Arthur Feathers (June 12, 1932 – August 29, 1998) was an American musician most associated with the rockabilly scene of the 1950s. Although not initially recognized for his contributions to rockabilly, over time his presence would bec ...

Bill Justis William Everett Justis Jr. (October 14, 1926 – July 16, 1982) was an American pioneer rock and roll musician, composer, and musical arranger, best known for his 1957 Grammy Hall of Fame song, " Raunchy". As a songwriter, he was also often credit ...

, and Ray Smith. Van Eaton played on some recordings for other Memphis labels, but after moving to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

with Riley's band he married and drifted away from music in the 1960s. He worked in the

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...

business and later as an investment banker. He also led a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

group, the Seekers, in the 1970s. He returned to

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

when he performed with the Sun Rhythm Section and worked again in the 1980s with Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1998, as J. M. Van Eaton, he released an album, ''The Beat Goes On'', featuring his own songs and vocals In addition to drums.

References

External links

J. M. Van Eaton Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Eaton, Jimmy 1937 births Living people Sun Records artists Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee American rockabilly musicians American rock drummers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Country musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians