Jim Hodder (musician)
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Jim Hodder (December 17, 1947 – June 5, 1990) was an American drummer, best known as an early member of Steely Dan. After leading the
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
-based group The Bead Game, Hodder moved to
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to join the first lineup of Steely Dan. He appeared on their first three albums before leaving the group in 1974. He worked as a session musician before his 1990 death.


Biography


Early years, Bead Game

Hodder was born in the small Long Island
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...
of Bethpage, New York in 1947. He graduated from Plainedge High School in the Plainedge Union Free School District in 1965 and relocated thereafter to the Boston area, where he became active in the local music scene. As drummer and lead vocalist, he joined the Boston-based
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
group The Bead Game, named after
Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', '' Steppenwolf'', '' Siddhartha'', and '' The Glass Bead Game'', each of which explores an individual' ...
's novel '' The Glass Bead Game''. The group built a local following before attracting the attention of Avco Records and producer Gary Kannon, later known as Gary Katz. Their first album, ''Baptism'', was canceled, though it would receive a posthumous release in 1996 with a limited run. In 1970 they appeared in the film '' The People Next Door'' in which they performed two songs, and soon thereafter recorded the album ''Easy Ridin as part of the collective Freedom Express. 1970 also saw the release of the band's only proper album, ''Welcome'', on Avco/
Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
. This album showcased a late psychedelic/early
progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
crossover sound, and featured Hodder singing lead vocals on all tracks.


Steely Dan

In 1972, Hodder accepted an invitation from Katz and Boston guitarist
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense con ...
to relocate to Los Angeles and join Steely Dan, a new group built around songwriters Donald Fagen and Walter Becker with whom the two were working. He made the move with his girlfriend Kathi Kamen Goldmark, later a successful author and musician. He barely knew the other band members prior to beginning tracking for their first records. Hodder acted as the group's drummer, but was also given occasional lead vocal duties thanks to Fagen's insecurities as a vocalist. He sang lead on "
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
", the A-side of the initial Steely Dan single, and on "Midnite Cruiser" from the debut album, '' Can't Buy a Thrill''. The band soon embarked upon extensive touring in the wake of their early commercial success. Hodder appeared on '' Countdown to Ecstasy'', a band-focused effort recorded the following year after the group's sound had cohered on the road. Although still a band member, he played a diminished role on the studio-oriented third LP, 1974's '' Pretzel Logic''. With the drumming handled by session musician Jim Gordon and future Steely Dan member
Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...
, Hodder's role on the album was relegated to backup vocals. The touring band assembled to promote the record featured simultaneous drumming from both Porcaro and Hodder. Hodder was initially uncomfortable with the idea, but later acknowledged the creative potential of the setup. Both he and Baxter left the group after the tour, as Becker and Fagen relegated band activity to studio sessions with guest musicians.


Session work

Hodder continued working as a session musician. He played drums on
Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
's 1974 single " You're No Good", and tracks on the 1976 albums '' Nine on a Ten Scale'' by
Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo ca ...
and ''
Sibling Rivalry Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among siblings, whether blood-related or not. Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced ...
'' by The Rowans. He later appeared as the sole drummer on David Soul's ''Playing to an Audience of One'' and Rocky Sullivan's 1984 ''Caught in the Crossfire'' record.


Death

On June 5, 1990, Hodder drowned in the swimming pool of his Point Arena, California home. He was 42 years old.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodder, Jim 1947 births 1990 deaths Accidental deaths in California American rock drummers Deaths by drowning in California People from Bethpage, New York People from Point Arena, California 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians