The Doobie Bros. longtime drummer has passed away. According to the band’s website, “It all began in 1969, when a drummer named John Hartman arrived in Northern California. He was there to meet Skip Spence from the band Moby Grape and become part of a supposed band reunion that never quite got off the ground. But it wasn’t all for naught. Spence (who had also played in the Jefferson Airplane) introduced Hartman to his friend Tom Johnston, a local singer/songwriter/guitarist, and they connected. Hartman and Johnston began playing local Bay Area bars. They soon met singer/guitarist Pat Simmons, whose finger-style playing richly complimented Johnston’s R&B strumming-style, and the foundation for The Doobie Brothers was set.”
Hartman played on the band’s first eight albums before leaving in 1979. He rejoined in 1987 and played on two more albums before leaving for good in 1992.
One of nine Doobies inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, Hartman is the fifth Doobies drummer/percussionist to pass following Bobby LaKind in 1992, Keith Knudsen in 2005, Michael Hossack in 2012 and Chet McCracken this past February.
John Hartman was 72. The date and cause of his death are not known.
REUTERS PHOTO
