Mickey Hart | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hart at the White House in December 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Michael Steven Hartman (1943-09-11)September 11, 1943 (age 82) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums, percussion |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Member of | Planet Drum |
| Formerly of | Grateful Dead |
| Website | mickeyhart |
| Signature | |
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Mickey Hart (bornMichael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an Americanpercussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock bandGrateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 1971, and again from October 1974 until their final show in July 1995. He and fellow Dead drummerBill Kreutzmann earned the nickname "the rhythm devils".
Michael Steven Hartman was born in theFlatbush section ofBrooklyn, New York. He was raised in the nearby suburban community ofInwood, New York, by his mother, Leah, a drummer, gown maker and bookkeeper. His fatherLenny Hart, a championrudimental drummer, had abandoned his family when the younger Hart was a toddler. Although Hart (who washyperactive and not academically inclined) became interested in percussion as a grade school student, his interest intensified after seeing his father's picture in a newsreel documenting the1939 World's Fair. Shortly thereafter, he discovered a practice pad and a pair of snakewood sticks that belonged to his father. "From the age of ten," he recalled, "all I did was drum."[1]
He attendedLawrence High School inCedarhurst, New York. Hart would later recall that many champion rudimental drummers attended his high school; this inspired him to ascend to the first chair in the All State Band as a pupil of Arthur Jones, who served as a father figure to him and ensured that he was not suspended for neglecting his other classes.[2][3]
While employed as asoda jerk at El Patio, a jazz club inAtlantic Beach, New York, he was influenced byTito Puente's regular appearances. A few months out of high school, he discovered the work of Nigerian drummerBabatunde Olatunji, another formative influence.[4] Olatunji later taught and collaborated with Hart.[5]
Hart dropped out of high school as a senior. Impressed by its musical pedigree, he enlisted in theUnited States Air Force in 1961. He served as a drummer inThe Airmen of Note, an elitebig band unit in theUnited States Air Force Band modeled afterGlenn Miller's celebrated Army Air Forces Band.[6]
For three and a half years he was stationed throughout Europe, where he also claimed to have taught "combative measures" (most notablyjudo, in which he had attained ablack belt) to units of theStrategic Air Command and other units in Europe and Africa. During a tour in Spain, he reportedly[weasel words] sat in with a variety of notable jazz musicians (includingGerry Mulligan andCount Basie) in addition to performing in various ensembles (spanning the gamut from small jazz combos to marching bands) and on recording sessions for local pop stars. Hart would later intimate in a 1972 interview that his Airmen of Note assignment served as a "cover" for his instructive duties.[3] While in the Air Force, he co-founded Joe and the Jaguars (alternatively billed as The Jaguars) with a fellow serviceman, guitarist Joe Bennett.[citation needed] Following his 1965 discharge, Hart briefly returned to theNew York metropolitan area, where he filled in for the regular drummer in a "staid fox-trot band" as a member of the local musician's union.[7]
While stationed in southern California, he had discovered that his father (by then employed as asavings and loan association executive inLos Angeles) was still involved in the drumming community as an endorser forRemo. FounderRemo Belli facilitated an introduction before Hart was reassigned to Spain, but the elder Hart soon disappeared. A post-discharge reconciliation attempt (also mediated by Belli) proved to be more successful. Shortly thereafter, father and son established the Hart Music Center inSan Carlos, California. In late 1965 or early 1966, Hart performed in an early iteration ofWilliam Penn and His Pals prior toGregg Rolie's membership and the recording of thegarage rock classic "Swami." Later in 1966, Hart and Bennett briefly resumed their collaboration before the latter reenlisted for a tour of duty inVietnam.[citation needed]
By the end of the year, Hart had moved in with Michael Hinton, a student and friend who would accompany him to aCount Basie Orchestra performance atThe Fillmore in mid-1967. At the concert, Hart helped fulfill Grateful Dead drummerBill Kreutzmann's request to meet Basie Orchestra drummerSonny Payne, leading to an informal tutorial between Hart and Kreutzmann and his eventual introduction to the Grateful Dead.[7]
Hart joined the Grateful Dead in September 1967. His interests in polyrhythmic rudiments and exotic percussion were integral to the band's arrangements in the period that archivistDick Latvala subsequently characterized as the "primal Dead era" of 1968–1969. However, he left by mutual agreement in February 1971, extricating himself after his father (who briefly managed the group) embezzled $70,000 from the band.[8] In his 2015 memoir, Kreutzmann divulged that Hart's use ofheroin and other "dark drugs" had accelerated in the wake of the embezzlement and impacted his contributions to the group, also contributing to his departure: "Mickey wasn't able to play at the level he was capable of and it was beginning to affect our performances. He was getting really spacey and just getting so far out there that he wasn't able to deliver the music. It became impossible for me to play with him. It wasn't out of anger or meanness, but we had to address it and deal with it. So our brother Mickey left the band and retreated to his ranch inNovato and it really strained our relationship for a while, sad to say."[9]
During his sabbatical, he released the albumRolling Thunder in 1972. Two additional solo albums (including anambient music project that was envisaged as the soundtrack forThe Silent Flute, a screenplay co-written byBruce Lee,James Coburn andStirling Silliphant that was ultimately filmed in 1978 as theDavid Carradine vehicleCircle of Iron) were completed but rejected by Warner Brothers due to the label's increasingly strained relationship with the Grateful Dead.[10] Hart's home recording studio proved to be a haven for the more idiosyncratic endeavors pursued by various band members, and he continued to collaborate with his former bandmates on various projects, most notablyRobert Hunter'sTales of the Great Rum Runners (1974) andNed Lagin'sSeastones (1975).[10]
He returned to the Dead for their final pre-hiatus concert in October 1974 and was formally reinstated by the beginning of the group's 1976 tour. He remained with the group until their official dissolution in 1995. Hart's collaboration with the remaining members of the Grateful Dead has continued withThe Other Ones,The Dead andDead & Company.
Alongside his work with the Grateful Dead, Hart has performed as a solo artist, percussionist, and the author of several books. In these endeavors he has pursued a lifelong interest inethnomusicology andworld music.[11]
Hart was influential in recording global musical traditions on the verge of possible extinction, working with archivists and ethnomusicologists at both theAmerican Folklife Center at theLibrary of Congress and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage at theSmithsonian Institution. He is on the Board of Trustees of theAmerican Folklife Center and has been a spokesperson for the "Save Our Sounds" audio preservation initiative. He also serves on the Library of Congress National Recorded Sound Preservation Board and is known for reissues and other recordings with historical and cultural value.
In 1991, Hart produced the albumPlanet Drum, which remained at number one on theBillboard World Music chart for 26 weeks,[12] and received the first everGrammy Award for Best World Music Album.[13]
Hart has written books on the history and traditions of drumming throughout history. His solo recordings (featuring a variety of guest musicians) are percussive but verge onNew Age.
In 1994, Hart was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead.[14]
In 2000, Hart became a member of the board of directors of theInstitute for Music and Neurologic Function, a nonprofit organization that studies the healing power of music[15] – continuing his investigation into the connection between healing and rhythm, and the neural basis of rhythm. In 2003, he was honored with the organization's Music Has Power Award, recognizing his advocacy and continuous commitment to raising public awareness of the positive effect of music.[16]
Hart was also a judge for the 3rd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.[17]
After the death ofJerry Garcia and the consequent dissolution of the Grateful Dead in 1995, Hart continued to play music with various groups including members of the Grateful Dead. In the 1996Furthur Festival, Mickey Hart's Mystery Box played, as didBob Weir's band,Ratdog.
In 2005, Hart and the members of the bandParticle joined to create the Hydra Project.
During 2006, Hart teamed up with fellow Grateful Dead bandmate Bill Kreutzmann,Phish bassistMike Gordon and formerOther Ones lead guitaristSteve Kimock, to form theRhythm Devils, a nickname that refers to Hart and Kreutzmann's drum duets and improvisation. The band features songs from their respective repertoires as well as new songs written by Jerry Garcia's songwriting companionRobert Hunter. The Rhythm Devils announced their first tour in 2006, which ended at the popularVegoose festival inLas Vegas, Nevada over theHalloween weekend.
In June and July 2008, Hart led the Mickey Hart Band on a US concert tour. The band consists of Hart, Steve Kimock on guitar andpedal steel guitar,George Porter Jr. on bass,Kyle Hollingsworth on keyboards,Sikiru Adepoju ontalking drum,Walfredo Reyes, Jr. on drums, and Jen Durkin on vocals.[18][19]
In 2010 Hart debuted "Rhythms of the Universe," a composition based on a variety of astrophysical data. The composition represents a collaboration between scientist and artist, using their own sophisticated tools.Nobel Laureate in physicsGeorge Smoot from the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and Keith Jackson, a computer scientist and musician also from LBNL, provided some of the data for the project. The final result comprises a "musical history of the universe", from the Big Bang onwards through galaxy and star formation, up until modern times, including images from theHubble Space Telescope and rhythms derived from thecosmic microwave background radiation,supernovae,quasars, and many other astrophysical phenomena. The work premiered at the conference "Cosmology on the Beach" inPlaya del Carmen in January 2010.[20]
In April 2010, it was announced that Rhythm Devils would tour in the summer of 2010 with a new line-up including Hart andBill Kreutzmann (assorted percussion),Keller Williams (guitar, vocals),Sikiru Adepoju (talking drum),Davy Knowles (guitar, vocals), andAndy Hess (bass).[21]
The Rhythm Devils did only one show in 2011, at theGathering of the Vibes Music Festival in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This version of the band was Hart, Kreutzmann, Keller Williams, Sikiru, Steve Kimock andReed Mathis ofTea Leaf Green on bass.[22]
In 2011 Hart debuted a new version of the Mickey Hart Band.[23] This lineup included Tim Hockenberry (vocals, keyboards, trombone, saxophone, other instruments), Crystal Monee Hall (vocals, guitar, hand percussion), Ben Yonas (keyboards), Gawain Mathews (guitar),Sikiru Adepoju (talking drum,djembe,shakers), Ian "Inkx" Herman (drums),Greg Ellis (percussion), Vir McCoy (bass). The band played a few shows in August 2011 on the east and west coasts of the United States. In November and December 2011, the Mickey Hart Band did a 17-date tour with a slightly modified lineup. McCoy and Ellis were not in this lineup, andWidespread Panic band memberDave Schools joined the band as their bass player for the tour.[24][25]
On October 11, 2011,Smithsonian Folkways releasedThe Mickey Hart Collection. Comprising 25 albums, the series includes music from regions that span the globe, including theSudan,Nigeria,Tibet,Indonesia,Latvia, andBrazil.[26]
In August 2013, the Mickey Hart Band embarked upon a tour with the Tea Leaf Trio, which includes three members of the bandTea Leaf Green, in support of the band's albumSuperorganism.[27]
On September 29, 2013, the completed version of his andGeorge Smoot's filmRhythms of the Universe premiered at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.[28]
In the summer of 2015, the surviving members of theGrateful Dead (Bob Weir,Phil Lesh,Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart), joined byTrey Anastasio,Bruce Hornsby andJeff Chimenti, performed a series of concerts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead. The performances took place at Santa Clara's Levi Stadium on June 27 and 28, 2015 and Chicago's Soldier Field on July 3, 4 and 5, 2015. These performances marked the first time Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann and Hart performed together since the Dead's 2009 tour and was publicized as the final time the musicians will all perform together.[29]
Also in 2015, Hart began touring withDead & Company, a band consisting of formerGrateful Dead members Weir, Hart and Kreutzmann, along withJohn Mayer (guitar),Oteil Burbridge (bass), andJeff Chimenti (keyboards). The band began touring in late 2015 and have conducted multiple tours since then. In 2017, he releasedRAMU, which featured contributions from both his long-time collaborators Steve Kimock and Sikiru Adepoju as well as Avey Tare and Tank Ball, among others.[30]
Hart plays, or has played,drum set, RAMU,[31]gong,tubular bells,tambourine,timpani,bongos,timbales,maracas,bass drum,snare drum,triangle,güiro,djembe,castanets,didgeridoo,glockenspiel,cymbals,surdo,saron, beats,tar,berimbau,kalimba,cowbell,rattle,shekere,rainstick,agogo bells,bells,wood block, taragat,balafon, tarang,gourd, clacker,bombo,dumbek,tom-toms,caxixi, water gong,talking drum,blaster beam,theremin, andpan flute.[32]
Hart has been married since 1990 to lawyer, environmental activist and former Sonoma County (California) Regional Parks Director Caryl Ohrbach Hart, with whom he has a daughter Reya. Hart also has a son Taro (born January 13, 1983) from his previous marriage to Mary Holloway.[33] He had Taro's heartbeat recordedin utero and used as the basis for the albumMusic to Be Born By. He lives inOccidental, California.[34] Hart is the only Jewish member of the Grateful Dead.[35][36]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Other Dream Team | Himself | Documentary about theLithuania men's national basketball team at the1992 Summer Olympics. | [40] |
| External videos | |
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 Geo Sessions: Global Drum Project Pt. 1. FromNational Geographic. Global Drum Project, featuring ex-Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and tabla legend Zakir Hussain |
Media related toMickey Hart at Wikimedia Commons
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