Terry Edward Draper (September 22, 1951 – May 15, 2025) was a Canadian musician who was the drummer and one of three songwriters for the 1970s
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
band
Klaatu.
[Brown, Dan (April 4, 2000). "When the music's over: Rock and roll is a vicious game, but not half as rough as what comes next – as a handful of Canada's former rock gods can attest", '']National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only. '', p. B10.
Career
Draper co-wrote the song "
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft", which was not only successful with his band
Klaatu, but also became a Top-40 hit for
the Carpenters
The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...
when they covered it in 1977. Draper also co-wrote the Klaatu songs "Prelude" in 1977 and "December Dream" in 1981, the latter being a tribute to
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
.
He went on to record several solo albums in his home studio in
Oak Ridges, Ontario
Oak Ridges is an Unincorporated area#Canada, unincorporated community of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, and has been part of the city since 1971. It forms the northern portion of the municipality's boundary, where it bord ...
, after the break-up of the band in 1981. His former Klaatu bandmates Dee Long and John Woloschuk made appearances on his album ''Light Years Later'' in 1997.
Personal life and death
Before becoming a successful musician, Draper had a construction business with a speciality in roofing.
Later on in the 1980s he returned to his roofing business and then developed a career as a restaurateur alongside his continued music work.
Draper died in
Newmarket, Ontario
Newmarket (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto Area, Greater Toron ...
on May 15, 2025, at the age of 73, from leukemia.
Solo releases
*''Light Years Later'' (1997)
*''Terry & The Twilight Zone: Live... Years Later'' (1997)
*''Terrytoons Presents: Can You Pretend?'' (1999)
*''Civil War (And Other Love Songs)'' (2001)
*''Civil War (Not Very)'' (2001)
*''Furzall Family'' (2002)
*''Aria 52 - A Five Year Mission'' (2004)
*''Stranded'' (2010)
*''When The World Was Young'' (2014)
*''Searching'' (2016)
*''Window On The World'' (2016)
*''Remarkable Women'' (2017)
*''A Very Terry Christmas'' (2017)
*''Once Upon A Memory'' (2018)
*''In My Garden'' (2019)
*''Sunset on Mars'' (2020)
*''Lost'' (2020)
*''The Other Side'' (2021)
*''Bread and Cirkus'' (2022)
*''In the Beginning'' (2023)
*''Infinity'' (2025)
References
External links
Terry Draperofficial site
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1951 births
2025 deaths
Musicians from Toronto
Canadian male drummers
{{Drummer-stub