Keith LeBlanc (November 10, 1954 – April 4, 2024) was an American drummer and record producer who was a member of the bands

Little Axe Skip McDonald (born Bernard Alexander, September 1949) is an American musician who also performs under the stage name Little Axe. Career Early career Grounded in blues music learned from his father, a steel worker who played blues guitar at w ...

and

Tackhead Tackhead (styled TACK>>HEAD, sometimes known as Fats Comet) is an industrial hip-hop group that was most active during the 1980s and early 1990s, and briefly reformed in 2004 for a tour. Their music occupies the territory where funk, dub, ind ...

. His record " No Sell Out" was one of the first sample-based releases. The song was a success, charting at No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart, and becoming the single of the week for several major music publications. His career started out on Sugar Hill Records recording with hip hop pioneers Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, and released several singles on and was a studio musician for

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Records is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Amber, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digita ...

. He is also featured on several tracks on the album ''

Pretty Hate Machine ''Pretty Hate Machine'' is the debut studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by TVT Records on October 20, 1989. Frontman Trent Reznor sang and performed most of the instruments, also producing the album along ...

'' by

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

. He had his own record label on which he released music, samples records, and experiments.

Early life

LeBlanc was born in Bristol, Connecticut, in 1954 and grew up there. He got his start playing drums after seeing

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 ...

from

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on TV. After showing an early interest and focus, his parents bought him a practice pad, and he joined the orchestra in school. A drummer in school encouraged his early interest, inspiring him to cobble together a makeshift kit which he played along to records on his father's HiFi system. He performed his first show at 14 after being snuck into the club by his older bandmates.

Sugar Hill Records

LeBlanc's friend Harold Sargent, the drummer for the house band at Sugar Hill Records, was retiring and needed to find his replacement. He brought in LeBlanc to audition for

Doug Wimbish Douglas Arthur Wimbish (born September 22, 1956) is an American bassist, primarily known for being a member of rock band Living Colour and funk/dub/hip hop collective Tackhead, and as a session musician with artists such as Sugarhill Gang, G ...

and Skip McDonald, who agreed to take him on after hitting it off with LeBlanc. After replacing Sargent, LeBlanc worked as the session drummer for Sugar Hill Records for four years.

Death

LeBlanc died on April 4, 2024. His death was confirmed by his label On-U Sound.

Discography

Solo albums

Source: * '' Major Malfunction'' (1986, World) * '' Stranger Than Fiction'' (1989, Enigma) * '' Invisible Spike'' (1991, Blanc) * '' Raw'' (1990, Blanc) * ''

Time Traveller Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

'' (1992, Blanc) * '' Freakatorium'' (1999, Blanc) * '' Stop the Confusion (Global Interference)'' (2005, Collision: Cause of Chapter 3)

Remixes

* '' Strip Mall Church (Vocal) (Keith LeBlanc Prophet Siren Remix)'' (2023, Emergency Hearts)

Tackhead

Session work

The Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group formed in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1979. Their hit " Rapper's Delight", released the same year they were formed, was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, rea ...

- ''

Sugarhill Gang Sugar Hill may refer to: Places In the United States: * Sugar Hill, Georgia, a city * Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, a town * Sugar Hill, Manhattan, New York, a section of Harlem * Sugar Hill, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Sugar Hil ...

'' (1980) * The Sugarhill Gang - " 8th Wonder" (1980) * The Sugarhill Gang - "

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

" (1981) *

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, ...

- "It's Nasty" (1981) * Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - '' The Message'' (1982) *

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- ''Love Letters'' (1984) *

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- '' How to Be a ... Zillionaire!'' (1985) *

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- '' Sun City'' (1985) * Force MDs - '' Chillin' (1985) *

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and

Soulsonic Force Soulsonic Force (also referred to as Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force) is an American electro-funk and hip hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped establish hip-hop in the early 1980s with songs such as " Planet Rock." They were also ...

- '' Planet Rock: The Album'' (1986) * Ministry - ''

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

'' (1986) *

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- " Turn You Inside-Out" (1988) *

- ''

'' (1989) *

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

- ''

'' (1991) *

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- ''

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'' (1992) *

The Wolfgang Press The Wolfgang Press are an English post-punk band, originally active from 1983 to 1995. The core of the band during that era was Michael Allen (vocals, bass), Mark Cox (keyboards), and Andrew Gray (guitar). They reformed in 2024 with Stephen Gr ...

- '' Funky Little Demons'' (1996) *

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

- '' Wildest Dreams'' (1996) *

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

- " Useless" (1997) * Tina Turner - '' Twenty Four Seven'' (1999) *

Spoon A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...

vs. On-U Sound - '' Lucifer on the Moon'' (2022)

References

External links

Official websiteOn NMESunday MercuryOn DrumdropsKeith LeBlanc Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:Leblanc, Keith 1954 births 2024 deaths People from Bristol, Connecticut Tommy Boy Records artists American male drummers American record producers Tackhead members Fats Comet members Drummers from Connecticut