Gaylord G. Birch (March 10, 1946 – April 14, 1996) was a drummer for the bands Santana,

Graham Central Station Graham Central Station was an American funk music, funk band named after founder Larry Graham (formerly of Sly and the Family Stone). The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often colloquially called Grand Central Station. ...

, Cold Blood, Pointer Sisters & Herbie Hancock.

History

Birch was the drummer for the Pointer Sisters during 1974 and performed many live performances with the group. Birch also appeared in the band Santana during 1976 and again in 1991, as well as playing the drums for a number of Herbie Hancock performances. In 1979, he joined

Merl Saunders Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ. Biography Born in San Mateo, California, United States, Saunders attended Polyt ...

& Jerry Garcia in

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

, a band which also included Ed Neumeister (trombone), Ron Stallings (tenor sax & vocals) and

John Kahn John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American electric and acoustic bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead. Biography John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee ...

(bass). This band existed for just a few months during 1979. The only traces remaining are live recordings made in Bay Area's clubs and small venues. Birch also played drums briefly with Cold Blood, and is on the recordings '' Thriller!'' (1973) and ''Live at the Record Plant Sausalito, CA JUL 2, 1974''. He played and recorded with Charles Brown in the 1980s. In the early 1970s Birch also played for

, Melissa Ethridge and recorded with Santana and Stevie Wonder. Birch also started his own band called the Birchworks, a local band that played in local clubs in the bay area. Birch was known as the go-to drummer whenever a recording or a band needed someone to fill in. He was one of the most versatile drummers around, playing any genre that was required of him. He was a very learned drummer.

Personal life

He was married to JoAnn Biagas, with whom he had a son, Gaylord Gibson Birch III; their marriage ended in 1978. In 1986, Birch married Mary Irene McCrea. In 1991, they welcomed the birth of daughter Irene Audrey, and, in 1994, a son Edward Anderson. Birch died on April 14, 1996, of cancer at age 50.

References

External links

Gaylord Birch credits
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Gaylord Birch credits
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

1946 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians Jerry Garcia Band members Santana (band) members Reconstruction (band) members {{US-drummer-stub