Take Five: Great Tracks featuring Aynsley Dunbar

Few drummers in the history of rock have a résumé as varied and extensive as Aynsley Dunbar. The Liverpool-born musician and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee has worked with some of the biggest names in rock and beyond. Though he’s effectively retired these days – he turned 80 on January 10 – Dunbar can proudly look back on a lifetime of impressive musicianship. Here are five tracks that merely scratch the surface of the amazing body of work featuring drummer Aynsley Dunbar.

“The Stumble” from John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers’ A Hard Road (1967)
John Mayall was the leading light of the British blues boom of the 1960’s. His band The Bluesbreakers was a stop on the career trajectories of countless musicians who wold go on to bigger things. Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Mick Taylor and John Hiseman are just some of the names who played with Mayall. And those Bluesbreakers albums are very, very good. When Clapton left for the Yardbirds, his replacement on guitar was (the arguably superior) Peter Green. On drums for that lineup’s first record A Hard Road was 21-year-old Aynsley Dunbar. Their reading of Freddie King’s classic “The Stumble” is an exemplar of the record.

“Road Ladies” from Frank Zappa’s Chunga’s Revenge (1970)
After his time with Mayall, Dunbar briefly led a blues outfit of his own, the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation. That group released four albums in the space of two years and was a regular fixture on the festival circuit, but never gained much in the way of mainstream success. Shortly after their last release, the band folded, and Dunbar joined Frank Zappa’s band in time for Chunga’s Revenge. They didn’t play a lot of blues, though “Road Ladies” falls into that category. Dunbar would eventually be heard on 11 Zappa albums released during the composer’s lifetime, plus at least eight posthumous releases.

“Rebel Rebel” from David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs (1974)
While with Zappa, Dunbar did a fair amount of work with other artists. He played on Shuggie Otis’ landmark Freedom Flight LP, drummed on two records by ex-Turtles (and ex-Mothers) Flo & Eddie, and played on Lou Reed’s Berlin and Herbie Mann’s London Underground (both 1973), plus many other sessions. By 1974 he was drumming with David Bowie. Dunbar played on Bowie’s Pin Ups (1973) and 1974’s Diamond Dogs. The latter included the hit single “Rebel Rebel.”

“Of a Lifetime” from Journey’s Journey (1975)
Between 1974 and 1976 Dunbar could be heard on releases by former Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson, Nils Lofgren, former Mott the Hoople front man Ian Hunter, and Sammy Hagar. But he also joined a new Bay Area-based band, Journey. That group’s original drummer was Prairie Prince (best known for his work with the Tubes and Todd Rundgren), but by the time of their debut, Dunbar had taken over on the drums. In their earliest guise, Journey was an exciting, progressive-leaning rock band. Dunbar was with the group through its first four albums, leaving shortly after 1978’s Infinity (the band’s first with new singer Steve Perry) “Of a Lifetime” from the band’s debut is among the best early tracks from Journey.

“Jane” from Jefferson Starship’s Freedom at Point Zero (1979)
After leaving Journey, Aynsley Dunbar joined another San Francisco group, Jefferson Starship. Led by former Jefferson Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner, the band made Freedom at Point Zero, their first album since the departure of fellow former Airplane crew members Grace Slick and Marty Balin. Freedom at Point Zero was also the band’s first album with new singer Mickey Thomas, and the group scored a major hit single (no. 14 on Billboard’s Hot 100) with “Jane.” Dunbar remained on board until 1982, after which he continued his illustrious career, working with a succession of hard rockers including Ronnie Montrose, Pat Travers, Whitesnake, Michael Schenker, UFO, Leslie West and even (on two albums) with Keith Emerson.