James Mack Van Eaton (December 23, 1937 – February 9, 2024), known as Jimmy Van Eaton or J. M. Van Eaton, was an American

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

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 pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

and others at

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

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 Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. 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 la ...

with the

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, record producer, film producer and music executive. He was producer and engineer for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in its early days, discovering ...

, 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 A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

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-k ...

", 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 i ...

. 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 singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel. In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname t ...

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 arrangement, musical arranger, best known for his 1957 Grammy Hall of Fame song, "Raunchy (instrumental), Raunchy". As a ...

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

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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 dispenses 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 payment is otherwise m ...

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

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

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 musi ...

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. He died at his home in Tuscumbia, Alabama on February 9, 2024, at the age of 86.Jimmy Van Eaton, Purveyor of the Sun Records Beat, Dies at 86
/ref>

References

External links

J. M. Van Eaton Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2011) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Eaton, Jimmy 1937 births 2024 deaths 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 Drummers from Tennessee