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Aynsley Dunbar
Dunbar performing in 2007
Background information
Born	Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (1946-01-10)10 January 1946 (age 79) Liverpool, England
Genres	Rock jazz blues heavy metal glam metal AOR
Occupations	Drummer
Years active	1963–present
Member of	World Classic Rockers
Formerly of	The Jeff Beck Group David Bowie band Frank Zappa band the Mothers of Invention UFO Whitesnake Journey Jefferson Starship John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers The Mojos

Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer.^[1] He has worked withJohn Mayall,Frank Zappa,Jeff Beck,Journey,Jefferson Starship,Nils Lofgren,Eric Burdon,Shuggie Otis,Ian Hunter,Lou Reed,David Bowie,Mick Ronson,Whitesnake,Pat Travers,Sammy Hagar,Michael Schenker,UFO,Michael Chapman,Jake E. Lee,Leslie West,Kathi McDonald,Keith Emerson, Mike Onesko,Herbie Mann andFlo & Eddie.^[2] Dunbar was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey in 2017.^[3]

Aynsley Thomas Dunbar was born inLiverpool, England. He started his professional career in Derry Wilkie and the Pressmen in 1963. In December 1964 he joinedMerseybeat groupThe Mojos, who were renamed Stu James & the Mojos, with original members vocalist Stu James and guitarist Nick Crouch and bass playerLewis Collins (later an actor inThe Professionals). This line-up continued until 1966. Dunbar then auditioned forthe Jimi Hendrix Experience – losing toMitch Mitchell on a coin toss.^[4][5] Dunbar then joinedJohn Mayall's Bluesbreakers replacingHughie Flint. He stayed with Mayall until the spring of 1967 (playing on theA Hard Road album), and was replaced byMick Fleetwood.

After a short stint inthe Jeff Beck Group, Dunbar founded 'the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation',^[1] so named to chide Mayall, who had fired him. They issued four albums during their existence. Dunbar co-wrote the song "Warning" (later recorded byBlack Sabbath ontheir first album).^[1] The Dunbar single version was recorded in 1967 for the Blue Horizon label,^[6] prior to his band's first album releaseThe Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation (1968).^[7]

Subsequently, Dunbar founded a short-lived progressive rock band called Blue Whale, which debuted with a tour of Scandinavia in January 1970.^[1] Following the recent collapse of the original lineup ofKing Crimson, Dunbar unsuccessfully tried to recruitRobert Fripp as Blue Whale's guitarist. Fripp, in turn, unsuccessfully tried to recruit Dunbar as King Crimson's new drummer. Blue Whale recorded one album, which featured Paul Williams (vocals),Ivan Zagni (guitar), Roger Sutton (guitar), Tommy Eyre (from Retaliation, keys) and Peter Friedberg (bass).^[8]Dunbar was subsequently the drummer forFrank Zappa, playing on the solo albumsApostrophe (') andWaka/Jawaka, and theMothers' albumsThe Grand Wazoo,Fillmore East – June 1971, andJust Another Band from L.A., as well as the film200 Motels. He filled in for Flo and Eddie when they left the Zappa group after an irate British "fan" pushed Zappa off theRainbow stage in 1971.^[9] In 1974 he played on the soundtrack ofDirty Duck, an adult animated film directed byCharles Swenson. In the mid-1970s Dunbar played drums for formerGrin leader,Nils Lofgren, before joining the newly formedJourney on February 1, 1974. He remained a member until the end of theInfinity Tour on September 2, 1978 in Oakland, a period that encompassed Journey’s first four studio albums. Soon after, he joinedJefferson Starship for three albums. On 28 December 1978, he played at Winterland in San Francisco withthe Tubes. Dunbar joinedWhitesnake in 1985 and performed on their 1987 album,Whitesnake. He also spent some time working withPat Travers,Eric Burdon,UFO,Michael Schenker,Mogg/Way andthe Animals.

He has been the drummer for theWorld Classic Rockers since 2003. In 2005, he drummed onJake E. Lee's soloRetraced album.

In 2008 Dunbar recorded an album of material for Direct Music withMickey Thomas ofStarship, and musicians such as Jake E. Lee, former guitarist forOzzy Osbourne. The complete recordings of Dunbar's drumming with Frank Zappa atCarnegie Hall in October 1971 were released exactly 40 years after the event in a four-CD set.

In 2009 the blues albumThe Bluesmasters featuring Mickey Thomas was released, featuring Dunbar on drums along with Tim Tucker on guitar and Danny Miranda on bass as well as guest stars such as Magic Slim on guitar and vocals.

Drummerworld recognized Dunbar as the only drummer to have played with such a robust variety of successful bands and musicians.^[10] In 2017 Aynsley was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey. Dunbar was ranked byRolling Stone as 27th greatest drummer of all time.^[11]

Dunbar's youngest son Dash was diagnosed with cancer in June 1999 and died on 9 May 2000.^[12]

Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Aynsley Dunbar" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• A Hard Road (1967)
• Looking Back (1969)
• So Many Roads (1969)
• Thru the Years (1971)

• Eddie Boyd and His Blues Band FeaturingPeter Green (1967)

• Rainmaker (1969)

• The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation (July 1968)^[13]
• Doctor Dunbar's Prescription (December 1968)^[14][15]
• To Mum, From Aynsley & The Boys (October 1969)^[16]
• Remains to Be Heard (May 1970)^[1]

• Blue Whale (1971)

• Chunga's Revenge (1970)
• Fillmore East - June 1971 (1971)
• 200 Motels (1971)
• Just Another Band from L.A. (1972)
• Waka/Jawaka (1972)
• The Grand Wazoo (1972)
• Apostrophe (') (1974)
• You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 (1988)
• You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 (1989)
• You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 (1992)
• Playground Psychotics (1992)
• The Lost Episodes (1996)
• Quaudiophiliac (2004)
• Carnegie Hall (2011)
• Finer Moments (2012)
• Road Tapes, Venue 3 (2016)
• The Mothers 1970 (2020)
• Zappa - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2021)
• Funky Nothingness (2023)

• Freedom Flight (1971)

• The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie (album) (1972)
• Flo & Eddie (album) (1973)

• Pin Ups (1973)
• Diamond Dogs (1974)

• Berlin (1973)

• London Underground (Atlantic, 1973)

• People from Bad Homes (1973)

• Insane Asylum (1974)

• Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1974)
• Play Don't Worry (1975)

• Nils Lofgren (1975)
• Cry Tough (1976)

• All American Alien Boy (1976)

• Journey (1975)
• Look into the Future (1976)
• Next (1977)
• Infinity (1978)

• Nine on a Ten Scale (1976)

• Freedom at Point Zero (1979)
• Modern Times (1981)
• Winds of Change (1982)

• Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (1983)

• Whitesnake (1987)
• 1987 Versions (1987)

• The Diva Station (1990)

• Just a Touch (1992)
• Blues Magnet (1994)
• P.T. Power Trio (2003)

• Edge of the World (1997)

• Fire on the Moon (1998)

• Adventures of the Imagination (2000)

• Covenant (2000)
• Sharks (2002)

• Blues to Die For (2003)

• Retraced (2005)

• Best Revenge (1985)
• Off the Shelf (2006)

• Mutiny (2008)

• Bob Brunning (1986)Blues: The British Connection, London: Helter Skelter, 2002,ISBN 1-900924-41-2
• Dick Heckstall-Smith (2004)The Safest Place in the World: A Personal History of British Rhythm and blues, Clear Books,ISBN 0-7043-2696-5 – First Edition :Blowing The Blues – Fifty Years Playing TheBritish Blues
• Christopher HjortStrange Brew:Eric Clapton and theBritish Blues Boom, 1965–1970, foreword byJohn Mayall, Jawbone (2007)ISBN 1-906002002
• Paul Myers:Long John Baldry and the Birth of theBritish Blues,Vancouver 2007 – GreyStone Books
• Harry ShapiroAlexis Korner: The Biography, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London 1997, Discography by Mark Troster

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• Aynsley Dunbar discography atDiscogs
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• English session musicians
• English expatriate musicians in the United States
• Glam rock musicians
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