Sterling Campbell (born May 3, 1964) is an American drummer and songwriter who has worked with numerous high-profile acts, including

the B-52s The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant grocer's apostrophe, apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

, Soul Asylum,

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena (band), Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". I ...

, Grayson Hugh,

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet ( ) were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids (New Romantics), ...

Gustavo Cerati Gustavo Adrián Cerati Clarke (11 August 1959 – 4 September 2014) was an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter who gained international recognition for being the leader, vocalist, composer, and guitarist of the rock band Soda Stereo. He is ...

, and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

.Alexandra Gill, (January 24, 2004), "Bowie's Drummer Hip to Falun Gong," ''The Globe and Mail''.

Early life

Campbell was born and raised in New York City, in an African-American family with five older brothers, all of whom enjoyed music from

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

, to rock and beyond, where he began learning to play the drums at age twelve. When he was fourteen years old, then-drummer in

's backing band, Dennis Davis, moved into the apartment building where Campbell's family resided. Davis invited him to come with him to see a Bowie concert, galvanizing the student to apply himself further on the drum kit. He attended high school at

the High School of Music & Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as Music & Art (or M&A), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High Sc ...

(a part of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts) from which he graduated. Campbell practiced, and composed his own songs, finding work 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 ...

Career

Campbell rose to international attention in 1986, touring with

on her True Colors World Tour. For the next ten years, he played with several notable bands which drew from different

genres Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other form ...

. In 1989, Campbell joined

, and later was hired first as a session player in 1991 by Soul Asylum, playing on half of the tracks on their 1992 release, '' Grave Dancer's Union'' including their

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning single, "

Runaway Train A runaway train is a type of railroad incident in which unattended rolling stock is accidentally allowed to roll onto the main line, a moving train loses enough braking power to be unable to stop in safety, or a train operates at unsafe speeds d ...

". Campbell soon replaced Soul Asylum's drummer Grant Young, and played with them from 1995 to 1998. Campbell began recording with

in 1991 and later joined his band in 1992, touring with him for fourteen years, until the end of his

A Reality Tour A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie in support of his 2003 album ''Reality''. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asi ...

, in 2004. Campbell has worked with artists such as

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...

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 ...

, Grayson Hugh and

. In 2007, he reunited with the B-52s and toured with the band into 2012.

Human rights advocacy

In 1996, Campbell began practicing Falun Gong, a form of meditative

qigong Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...

practice whose followers are persecuted in China. He traveled to Beijing in 2002 to demonstrate against the suppression, and was allegedly detained and beaten by police. He has since continued to advocate for human rights in China.

References

External links

www.sterlingcampbellmusic.com

Friends of Falun Gong interview

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Sterling 1964 births African-American drummers African-American rock musicians American rock drummers Duran Duran members The High School of Music & Art alumni Columbia Records artists Living people Drummers from New York City The The members American session musicians Falun Gong practitioners 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Soul Asylum members American human rights activists