Danny Thomas (born 1948 in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

) was the drummer for the

13th Floor Elevators The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, a ...

from 1967 to 1969, replacing

John Ike Walton The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, an ...

. Danny played drums and sang backup vocals on the band's final two studio albums, ''

Easter Everywhere ''Easter Everywhere'' is the second studio album by the American psychedelic rock band the 13th Floor Elevators. It was released on 25 October 1967, through record label International Artists. It is regarded by many critics to be one of the f ...

'' and ''

Bull of the Woods ''Bull of the Woods'' is the third studio album by The 13th Floor Elevators, and the last on which they worked as a group. The album is noted for its moody, dreamy, and fuzzed-out psychedelic sound, and was released by International Artists. Ba ...

''. In an interview in 2001, when asked why he had quit the band, his reply was "I never quit". Whilst part of the 13th Floor Elevators, he was hired as drummer for Delta blues guitarist Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins to perform and record with Hopkins on the album ''

Free Form Patterns ''Free Form Patterns'' (also released as ''Reflections'') is an album by the blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins backed by the rhythm section of the 13th Floor Elevators, recorded in Texas in 1968 and released on the International Artists label.

''. After leaving Texas and returning to North Carolina, he played from 1970 to 1997 with the following bands: Lou Curry Band, Dogmeat, and Bessie Mae's Dream with Gene Norman, Rich Carlson, Marcus Cheek, and Jerry Shaver. During this time, he owned his own delivery company called Gophers. Prior to that, he worked in accounting at

Carolinas Medical Center Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) is an 874-bed non-profit, Tertiary care, tertiary, research and Teaching hospital, academic medical center located in Charlotte, North Carolina, servicing the southern North Carolina, northern South Carolina, and t ...

. A vegetarian and humanitarian, he retired in 2006, but had many hobbies including buying and selling antiques and gardening. He retired to Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Juanette. He has three children: two daughters, Christina Thomas Davis and Tiffany Thomas Johnson, and one adopted son, Jason Vincent Brock, an author of horror fiction.

References

External links

The 13th Elevation~Revelation...The 5th Estate~Evolution
(Recollections of the 13th Floor Elevators) Living people Musicians from Charlotte, North Carolina American drummers 1948 births {{US-drummer-stub