Not many people can say they’ve played with the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Jefferson Airplane. Even fewer can honestly admit that they turned The Eagles down cold.
So goes the story of Johny Barbata, a drummer with a legendary resume, but not much name recognition. Hence “Johny Barbata: The Legendary Life of a Rock Star Drummer,” the autobiography of a little-known talent with superstar memories.
On Saturday, the rock ‘n’ roll lifer will be in Santa Monica at West L.A. Music to sign copies of his book and perform a bit.
Barbata got his start during the heyday of surf music as a member of The Sentinals. The act had a couple of noteworthy hits during the early 1960s, but Barbata wanted more. He decided to move to Los Angeles with stars in his eyes and a pair of drumsticks in his hands.
Not long after arriving in the City of Angels, Barbata was asked to play with an up-and-coming pop group called The Turtles.
“I was playing the Action Club in Hollywood when (record producer) Bones Howe introduced me to The Turtles. After I played three songs, he yelled out, ‘get that drummer,’” recalled Barbata.
He must have impressed, because before he knew it, he was recording and touring with the group that would go on to be one of the most popular acts of the decade. “‘Happy Together’ was so big it knocked ‘Penny Lane’ right out of the top spot on the charts. I later met Paul McCartney and he gave me a little ribbing about us knocking The Beatles out of the top spot,” said Barbata about The Turtles’ song that spent two months at the top of the charts during 1967.
In talking with Barbata, it’s obvious this guy has led a charmed life. During a career that saw him record more than 100 albums and 20 hit singles, he’s experienced the highs and lows of the music business and is adept at spinning yarns regarding his days behind the drum kit. He name-drops with the best of them, yet it doesn’t seem forced. He tells tales about performing drum solos in front of 150,000 screaming fans as if it were yesterday.
There are so many memories in this one man’s head, it’s a no-brainer that he wrote “The Legendary Life of a Rock Star Drummer,” now available on his Web site (www.johnybarbata.com) or during the many in-store book signing events he has scheduled for the summer.
Johny Barbata will sign copies of his book at West L.A. Music on Saturday, from noon to 5 p.m. He’s also scheduled to appear at West L.A. Music’s Universal City location on Friday. For information, call (310) 477-1945.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 28, 2007. Read the original PDF.