Legendary early rock ‘n’ roll drummer J.M. “Jimmy” Van Eaton died on Friday at age 86, according to a family member. He was 86.
The Memphis native was best known for his influential work at the iconic Sun Records label backing stars like Jerry Lee Lewis and Billy Lee Riley in the 1950s.
“It was an instrument that intrigued me,” Van Eaton said in a 2015 interview about switching from trumpet to drums.
His energetic, bluesy percussion style powered Sun Records hits like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Red Hot.”
Van Eaton first recorded at Sun with his own band The Echoes. There, he got to know superproducer Sam Phillips.
“The hardest man to play with in the world was Jerry Lee,” Phillips told The Commercial Appeal in 2000. “I told every musician to stay out of this man’s way. The one exception was JM Van Eaton.”
Van Eaton’s collaborations with Riley and later Lewis as part of the regular Sun studio musicians made him a cornerstone of early rockabilly.
In the 1960s, Van Eaton stepped back from the music industry, but he resumed performing in the 1970s, following Elvis Presley’s death and the resurgence of interest in rockabilly.
In the 1980s, he embarked on a 40-year career in municipal bonds, although he still performed and recorded occasionally.
Van Eaton played the music for the film “Great Balls of Fire” about Lewis’ life in the late 1980s. More recently, he released a solo album in the 90s and was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. He lived in Tennesse until moving to Alabama just a few years ago.
Upon his passing this week, his pioneering legacy at Sun Records and in early rock ‘n’ roll history remains cemented.
He’s survived by two daughters, two sons, a stepson, and his wife Deborah.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.