Richard “Shtix” Adelman
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1946, Richard Adelman started playing drums at age eight. In grammar school he was in a band called The Cavaliers whose bass player was Tony Levin, later of King Crimson and studio fame. “I still remember what a good player he was back then,” Levin says. “[That band] happens to be the subject of one of the stories in my book, Beyond the Bass Clef.”
Musical beginnings, Bill Swofford
In high school, Adelman distinguished himself as an innovative, creative and gifted percussionist who was always picked for any solo work. He played in bands at the Surf Ballroom and other local venues, once opening for The Beach Boys. His band also played Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsburg‘s “Battle of the Bands” on WMEX, cut a few demos at Ace Recording Studios and recorded a 45 on the G-Clef label. Whatever the gig, he blended his original, notable style with a showman’s persona.
From 1965 to 1968, he attended the University of North Carolina, where he met the local singer Bill Swofford who, under his middle name, Oliver, had recorded the gold-selling singles “Good Morning Starshine” (which reached #3 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1969) and “Jean” (which hit #2 in the Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart).
Jonathan Edwards, “Sunshine,” Martin Mull, Donna Summer
After touring with Oliver, Richard returned to Boston, where he connected with Jonathan Edwards, who was recording his first album at Intermedia Sound Studios. As Edwards recalled, “There was a song on the album called ‘Please Find Me’ and for some reason the engineer rolled over it. It got erased.” But all was not lost, he said. “I went in with a new tune, called ‘Sunshine’. I played all the instruments myself and sang the harmony. The next day, Rich Adelman came in and overdubbed drums. Bang! A gold album and a top-five hit on my first solo release!”
In 1975 he recorded the LP Days of Wine and Neuroses with Martin Mull, touring with him until 1977 and bringing his obliging beats to Mull’s wacko musical routines. After that, he landed a gig backing Donna Summer, whose musical director, Michael Warren, said of Adelman, “A great drummer and rock solid. Even today, people would joke about disco, but if you were a drummer, it was not a joke. There were no kick drum sample loops. It was the real thing, pedal to the metal for an hour-and-a-half show. The job demanded a great drummer with the endurance of a marathon runner. Slamming four to the beat on a kick drum, with me yelling “louder!’ should have put his right ankle into total spasms. ” Adelman earned a platinum album for Summer’s 1978 LP Live and More in 1977 and toured with her for several years.
Tragedy struck in 1985 when a car crash left Adelman a quadriplegic. After that, he became an advocate for disabled musicians. On April 1, 2012, he passed away peacefully, having touched many lives with his music and his ever-warm, ever-compassionate personality.
(by Gary Peters)
