James McDonnell (born March 21, 1961), known by the stage name Slim Jim Phantom, is the drummer for
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
. Alongside bandmates
Brian Setzer
Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...
and
Lee Rocker
Lee Rocker (born Leon Drucker, August 3, 1961) is an American musician. He is a member of the rockabilly revival band Stray Cats.
He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker, the late former principal clarinetist of the New Yor ...
, he spearheaded the
neo-rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...
movement of the early 1980s.
Phantom currently plays in the band
Kat Men
Kat Men is an American/British rockabilly band, formed in 2006 by former Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and Darrel Higham. The duo released its debut album, ''Kat Men'' in 2006, with a follow-up, ''The Kat Men Cometh'', released in 2013.
I ...
with
Imelda May
Imelda Mary Higham (born Imelda Mary Clabby, 10 July 1974), professionally known as Imelda May, is an Irish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Known primarily as a singer, she also plays the bodhrán, guitar, bass guitar and tambou ...
guitarist
Darrel Higham
Darrel Higham (born 5 January 1970) is an English rockabilly guitarist who performs with Kat Men. He was previously married to Imelda May and performed in her band.
Biography Music career
Higham started playing lead guitar with British rockab ...
and is the host of the weekly radio show "Rockabilly Rave-up" on the satellite radio station
Underground Garage
''Underground Garage'' is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by American musician Steven Van Zandt (best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springs ...
.
Biography
Born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and raised in
Massapequa, New York
Massapequa (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Massapequa area. The p ...
, Phantom grew up listening to his parents'
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
and began
playing drums by the age of ten. He took
lesson
A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...
s with
Mousie Alexander
Elmer "Mousey" Alexander (June 19, 1922 – October 9, 1988) was an American jazz drummer.
Career
Alexander was born in Gary, Indiana to Assyrian parents from Iran. He grew up in Chicago, eventually studying at the Roy C. Knapp School of Percus ...
, who played with
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...
, studying
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and working through books by
Jim Chapin
James Forbes Chapin ( ) (July 23, 1919 – July 4, 2009) was an American jazz drummer and the author of books about jazz drumming. He was the author of several albums (later converted to CDs) on jazz drumming, as well as 2 CDs entitled ''Jim Cha ...
and
Ted Reed.
![Slim Jim Phantom Stray Cats, Sweden 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Slim_Jim_Phantom_Stray_Cats%2C_Sweden_2008.jpg)
By the late 1970s, he was playing in bands with his childhood friend,
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...
Lee Rocker
Lee Rocker (born Leon Drucker, August 3, 1961) is an American musician. He is a member of the rockabilly revival band Stray Cats.
He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker, the late former principal clarinetist of the New Yor ...
. They soon joined forces with
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
Brian Setzer
Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...
to form
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
. When performing with Stray Cats, Phantom did not sit behind a standard
drum kit
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...
like most drummers, but instead opted to play in a standing position with a minimalist set-up of
bass drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
,
snare drum
The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...
,
hi-hat
A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...
, and
crash cymbal
A crash cymbal is a type of cymbal that produces a loud, sharp "crash" and is used mainly for occasional accents, as opposed to a ride cymbal. It can be mounted on a stand and played with a drum stick, or by hand in pairs. One or two crash c ...
.
During downtime from Stray Cats, Phantom played in
swing,
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
, and
jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as ...
combo
Combo may refer to: Technology
*Combo television unit, a television with either a VCR or a DVD player built into a single unit
* Combo drive, a type of optical drive that can read CDs and DVDs
*A guitar amplifier incorporating one or more loudsp ...
The Swing Cats with Rocker and ex-
Polecats
Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade). The name is applied to several species with broad similaritie ...
guitarist
Danny B. Harvey, as well as rockabilly and
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
project Phantom, Rocker & Slick with Rocker and
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
Earl Slick
Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni in Brooklyn, New York, October 1, 1952) is a guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith. He has also worked with other artists including John Waite, Tim ...
. Phantom also played with
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...
.
He later formed Col. Parker with former
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
guitarist
Gilby Clarke
Gilbert J. "Gilby" Clarke (born August 17, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He had a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour ...
, releasing the album ''Rock n Roll Music'' in 2001.
Most recently, he has been involved in the eponymous
roots-rock
Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...
band Slim Jim's Phantom Trio;
rock-and-roll
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
Dead Men Walking
Dead Men Walking are a British based rock supergroup with a multi national line-up, who have toured the UK, Ireland and the United States. From 2001 to 2006 they were led by Mike Peters of the Alarm and Kirk Brandon, of Spear of Destiny, with a ...
with
Kirk Brandon
Kirk Brandon (born 3 August 1956) is an English musician best known as the leader of the bands Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny and a former lover of Boy George.
Musical career
Brandon's music career started in 1978, in Clapham, south Lo ...
and
Mike Peters, and
Captain Sensible
Raymond Ian Burns (born 24 April 1954), known by the stage name Captain Sensible, is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist.
Captain Sensible co-founded the punk rock band The Damned (band), the Damned, originally playing bass before switc ...
; and rockabilly supergroup
The Head Cat
The Head Cat is an American rockabilly supergroup formed by vocalist/bassist Lemmy (of Motörhead), drummer Slim Jim Phantom (of The Stray Cats) and guitarist Danny B. Harvey (of Lonesome Spurs and The Rockats). Lemmy died in 2015 and as of 20 ...
with Danny B. Harvey and the late
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...
vocalist and bassist
Lemmy
Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...
. He also hosts the Rockabilly Raveup show on ''
Little Steven's Underground Garage
''Underground Garage'' is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by American musician Steven Van Zandt (best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springst ...
''.
He was married to actress
Britt Ekland
Britt Ekland (; born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress, model and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in '' The Double Man'' (1967), ''The Night They Raided ...
from 1984 to 1992 and has a son, T.J. (born 1988), with her.
, he is married to
Jennie Vee
Jennie Vee is a songwriter, guitarist and bassist from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. She has played bass with Courtney Love, supported Echo and The Bunnymen and the Manic Street Preachers and played with Tamaryn.
Vee grew up listening to Hole, Th ...
, bassist for
Eagles of Death Metal
Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band's ...
.
In 2021, he formed a rockabilly band with
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...
and
Chris Cheney
Christopher John Cheney (born 2 January 1975) is an Australian rock musician, record producer, and studio owner. He is the founding mainstay guitarist, songwriter, and lead vocalist of the rockabilly band The Living End, which was formed in 1 ...
.
Discography
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
'' (1981)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''
Gonna Ball
''Gonna Ball'' is the second studio album by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, first released in the UK by Arista Records in November 1981. The album was produced by the band and Hein Hoven. It went platinum in the U.K.
Five of the album's t ...
'' (1981)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''
Built for Speed'' (1982)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''
Rant N' Rave with the Stray Cats
''Rant n' Rave with the Stray Cats'' is the third studio album by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, released on August 15, 1983 by EMI America. It was produced by Dave Edmunds. The album featured the No. 5 hit "(She's) Sexy + 17", Top 40 hit ...
'' (1983)
*
Phantom, Rocker & Slick – ''Phantom, Rocker & Slick'' (1985)
*
Phantom, Rocker & Slick – ''Cover Girl'' (1986)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''Rock Therapy'' (1986)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''Blast Off!'' (1989)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''Let's Go Faster!'' (1990)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''The Best of the Stray Cats: Rock This Town'' (1990)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''Choo Choo Hot Fish'' (1992)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''Original Cool'' (1993)
*Swing Cats – ''Swing Cats'' (1999)
*Swing Cats – ''A Special Tribute to Elvis'' (2000)
*
The Head Cat
The Head Cat is an American rockabilly supergroup formed by vocalist/bassist Lemmy (of Motörhead), drummer Slim Jim Phantom (of The Stray Cats) and guitarist Danny B. Harvey (of Lonesome Spurs and The Rockats). Lemmy died in 2015 and as of 20 ...
– ''Lemmy, Slim Jim & Danny B'' (2000)
*Swing Cats – ''Swing Cat Stomp'' (2000)
*Col Parker – ''Rock N Roll Music'' (2001)
*Swing Cats – ''A Rock'A-Billy Christmas (2002)
*13 Cats – ''In the Beginning'' (2002)
*13 Cats – ''13 Tracks'' (2003)
*Dead Men Walking – ''Live at Leeds'' (2003)
*Dead Men Walking – ''Live at Darwen'' (2004)
*13 Cats – ''In the Beginning 2'' (2004)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''Rumble in Brixton'' (2004)
*Dead Men Walking – ''Live at CBGB's New York City'' (2005)
*Dead Men Walking – ''Graveyard Smashes Volume 1'' (2006)
*
The Head Cat
The Head Cat is an American rockabilly supergroup formed by vocalist/bassist Lemmy (of Motörhead), drummer Slim Jim Phantom (of The Stray Cats) and guitarist Danny B. Harvey (of Lonesome Spurs and The Rockats). Lemmy died in 2015 and as of 20 ...
– ''
Fool's Paradise (2006)
*
Kat Men
Kat Men is an American/British rockabilly band, formed in 2006 by former Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and Darrel Higham. The duo released its debut album, ''Kat Men'' in 2006, with a follow-up, ''The Kat Men Cometh'', released in 2013.
I ...
– ''Kat Men'' (2006)
*
The Head Cat
The Head Cat is an American rockabilly supergroup formed by vocalist/bassist Lemmy (of Motörhead), drummer Slim Jim Phantom (of The Stray Cats) and guitarist Danny B. Harvey (of Lonesome Spurs and The Rockats). Lemmy died in 2015 and as of 20 ...
– ''
Walk the Walk...Talk the Talk'' (2011)
*
Kat Men
Kat Men is an American/British rockabilly band, formed in 2006 by former Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and Darrel Higham. The duo released its debut album, ''Kat Men'' in 2006, with a follow-up, ''The Kat Men Cometh'', released in 2013.
I ...
– ''The Kat Men Cometh'' (2013)
*
Stray Cats
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...
– ''40'' (2019)
References
External links
*
Slim Jim Phantom InterviewNAMM Oral History Library (2019)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phantom, Slim Jim
1961 births
Living people
Stray Cats members
American expatriates in the United Kingdom
American rock drummers
American rockabilly musicians
Musicians from Brooklyn
People from Massapequa, New York
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Dead Men Walking members
The Head Cat members