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Greg Errico
Greg Errico
	Errico in 1968
Background information
Born	September 1, 1948 (age 76); San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genres	Psychedelic soul; funk; R&B; jazz fusion;
Occupation(s)	Musician, producer
Instrument(s)	Drums, percussion
Years active	1965–present

Greg Errico (born September 1, 1948^[1]) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the drummer for the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone.^[2]

Career

1960s-1970s

He was a founding member and the original drummer, in December 1966, for Sly & The Family Stone, and in 1971 he became the first member to quit the group, citing the band's continuing turmoil.^[3] As a member of Sly and the Family Stone, Errico played at Woodstock music festival in 1969.

Errico toured with jazz-fusion group Weather Report in 1973/74, but never made a studio recording with the group. His performances can be heard on live recordings hosted at the website Wolfgang's Vault. Joe Zawinul said that no one could play his tune "Boogie Woogie Waltz" better than Errico had.

Errico joined the David Bowie band for his Diamond Dogs Tour during September 1974.^[4]

Errico later collaborated with bands such as Santana, on Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles Live, released June 7, 1972, and with the Grateful Dead. In 1974 he began drumming for the Jerry Garcia Band on and off thru 1984. He also worked with Larry Graham (from Sly & The Family Stone) plus members of the Tower of Power horns, Journey and the Pointer Sisters on the first album for Betty Davis; Errico produced and drummed. He also produced and drummed on the only album by Ike White (Changing Times).

Recent works

One of his recent projects was producing the Jamie Davis big band album. He also played at the 2006 Grammy Awards, in the Sly & the Family Stone tribute, alongside most of his former bandmates. In recent years he has played drums for the reformed Quicksilver Messenger Service.

Legacy

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. He continued to tour, with The Family Stone, alongside fellow founding member of Sly and the Family Stone Jerry Martini (saxophone). This band also included former Sly and the Family Stone member Cynthia Robinson (trumpet) before she died in 2015.^[5]

Errico's intricate drumming, particularly with Sly & the Family Stone, has been sampled on hundreds of occasions by hip hop producers over the years.^[6]

Personal life

Errico was born and grew up in San Francisco, California. Errico still lives in the Bay Area, and continues to play and produce.

A 2014 scientific paper states that Errico is the musician with the highest degree and PageRank centralities, and the second highest Eigenvector centrality, of all musicians of all time.^[7]

Equipment

Over his career, Errico has played a variety of drum sets, including Slingerland, Ludwig and DW. He currently plays DW drums and Paistecymbals.

Discography

A Whole New Thing – Sly and the Family Stone (1967)
Dance to the Music – Sly and the Family Stone (1968)
Life – Sly and the Family Stone (1968)
Stand! – Sly and the Family Stone (1969)
Woodstock – various artists, (as Sly and the Family Stone) (1970)
There's a Riot Goin' On – Sly and the Family Stone (1971)
Rolling Thunder – Mickey Hart (1972)
Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live! – Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles (1972)
Betty Davis – Betty Davis (1973)
Monkey Grip – Bill Wyman (1974)
Band Wagon – Shigeru Suzuki (1975)
Changing Times - Ike White (1975)
David Soul – David Soul (1976)
Lee Oskar – Lee Oskar (1976)
Stone Alone – Bill Wyman (1976)
Giants – Giants (1978)
Before the Rain – Lee Oskar (1978)
Say It with Silence – Hubert Laws (1978)
My Road, Our Road – Lee Oskar (1980)
The Apocalypse Now Sessions – Rhythm Devils (1980)
Watchfire – Pete Sears (1988)
Snakes & Stripes – Harvey Mandel (1995)
Seven – Enuff Z'nuff (1997)
Red Clay Harvest – Cravin' Melon (1998)
The Closing of Winterland – Grateful Dead (2003)
Garcia Live Volume Five – Jerry Garcia Band (2014)
Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74) – David Bowie (2017)

References

^ Greg Errico at AllMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
^ Greg Errico interview at Sound Colour Vibration, July 23, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
^ Sly and the Family Stone at bay-area-bands. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
^ Griffin, Roger (201). David Bowie: The Golden Years. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-8571-2875-1.
^ Sly and the Family Stone at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
^ "Sly & the Family Stone". WhoSampled.
^ Study on social connectedness of contemporary musicians. Retrieved October 1, 2018.