Ronnie Stephenson (26 January 1937 – 8 August 2002) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

jazz drummer. He was one of the most in-demand drummers on the British jazz scene in the 1960s.

Biography

Stephenson was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. As a boy, he wanted to become a tap dancer like his idol

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

, but he was persuaded by his father and his brother to take up the drums. Ronnie was given a second-hand drum kit when he was 14 and, a year later, aged 15, he was playing with semi-professional bands near his home. His elder brother Billy played the piano, and his brother Bob also became a pianist, but Ronnie was focussed on playing the drums. He already played his first gig in public in the same week as he took his first drum lesson at the age of 14 and was soon working with pianist elder brother Bob's band, and then with the Ray Chester's Sextet. He went to Birmingham to join the Cliff Deeley Band at the Tower Ballroom, where he played for several months before going on the road. When he was 16, he joined the singer

Lita Roza Lilian Patricia Lita Roza (14 March 1926 – 14 August 2008) was an English singer best known for her 1953 recording " (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. She was the first British woman to h ...

, a national star who had left the

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath also served for 51 year ...

band to tour the variety theatre circuit as a soloist. The 10 months he spent with her was to be of great experience in the music business. He was conscripted into the Army and served in The Royal Signals Band. He was demobbed in 1957. Stephenson had a close association with

Ronnie Scott Ronnie Scott Order of the British Empire, OBE (born Ronald Schatt; 28 January 1927 – 23 December 1996) was a British jazz Tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner. He co-founded Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London's Soho district ...

and the Club and, being the resident house drummer, he spent two years (1964-1966) in Ronnie Scott's Quartet, and accompanied many visiting stars. In July, 1966, he formed a Big Band called 'The Ronnie Stephenson Big Band' and recorded a 'Drum Spectacular' LP on Columbia Records with drummer

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. He toured Germany with

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in 1969 and then took up the resident drum chair with the

Kurt Edelhagen Kurt Edelhagen (; born 5 June 1920 – 8 February 1982) was a German big band leader. Biography Edelhagen was born in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Edelhagen studied conducting and piano in Essen. In 1945, he started a trio, then a big ...

Band after moving to Cologne with his wife Jean, daughter Kim, and son Carl. After three years with the Edelhagen band, he teamed up with pianist Paul Kuhn in Berlin and toured Europe with bands and artists including the 'Radio Free Berlin Big Band'. This was at the time when

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, Milo Pavlovic, Heinz von Hermann, Torolf Molgaard and

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were all members of the band. He joined the

Theater des Westens The Theater des Westens (Theatre of the West) is one of the most famous theatres for musicals and operettas in Berlin, Germany, located at 10–12 in Charlottenburg. It was founded in 1895 for plays. The present house was opened in 1896 and ded ...

orchestra in Berlin in 1981, and remained there until his retirement on health grounds in 1995. He also taught at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

from 1990 to 1993. He performed or recorded with

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, Terry Smith,

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, Kurt Edelhagen,

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, and

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, among many others. In addition to his many jazz connections, he also played with pop stars such as

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, Engelbert Humperdinck,

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and

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. He also played on the

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themes '' Diamonds Are Forever'' and '' You Only Live Twice'' and on other film scores, including ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...

''. In the 1990s, Stephenson played with

's Rhythm Combination & Brass, particularly the Berghausen Jazz Festival and the Domicile in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. He set a very high standard of playing wherever he played.Ronnie Stevenson write up (top right of page)
''www.henrybebop.co.uk''

Personal life and death

In 1995, Stephenson retired from music on medical advice and settled in

Alyth Alyth () () is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, northeast of Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie and about northwest of Dundee. In 2022 the town had an estimated population of 3,046. First mentioned by name in a 12th-century royal char ...

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

, Scotland with his wife Jean to be near his daughter, Kim. He turned to golf as a restorative, becoming a member of Strathmore Golf Club. He died in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Scotland on 8 August 2002, aged 65. He is survived by his wife, children, Kim and Carl, five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Select discography

*1958:

and the Big Band of Europe *1960: Stan Getz with Kurt Edelhagen Orchestra *1962: Mike Carr's EmCee Five – ''Bebop from the East Coast'' *1964:

– ''Boom-Jackie-Boom-Chick'' *1964: Ronnie Scott and

– ''The Night Has A Thousand Eyes'' (Live At Ronnie Scott's) *1965:

– ''Just Friends'' *1965: Ronnie Scott Trio – ''Double Event'' *1965:

– Live In Europe *1965: Wes Montgomery – Live at Ronnie Scott's *1965:

with Stan Tracey – ''Three Little Words'' *1965:

– ''Laughin' And Scratchin' '' *1965: "Humphrey Lyttelton And His Band" *1966: Stan Tracey Big Band – ''Alice in Jazz Land'' *1966:

& Ronnie Stephenson – ''Drum Spectacular'' *1966: The Stan Tracey Big Band *1967: Stan Tracey Quartet – ''With Love from Jazz'' *1968:

– ''Cleopatra's Needle'' *1969: J.J. Jackson – ''

The Greatest Little Soul Band in the Land ''The Greatest Little Soul Band in the Land'' is J.J. Jackson's third album. The album was released in 1969 on the Congress label, which had been relaunched that year by MCA as a subsidiary of Uni Records. The single released from the album wa ...

'' *1969: Terry Smith – ''Fall Out'' *1978:

Rolf Ericson Rolf Ericson (August 29, 1922 – June 16, 1997) was a Swedish jazz trumpeter. He also played the flugelhorn. Yanow, Scott. Biography ''AllMusic'' Early career Ericson was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He moved to New York City in 1947 and, in 19 ...

– ''Sincerely Ours''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Ronnie 1937 births 2002 deaths English jazz drummers English male drummers English male jazz musicians 20th-century English male musicians