- Source: Jimmy Maelen
Jimmy Maelen (born March 26, 1940 – January 14, 1988) was an American percussionist from the 1960s to 1980s, who worked with many artists including Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Peter Gabriel, James Taylor, Dire Straits, Barry Manilow, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Madonna, Bryan Adams, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, David Bowie and John Lennon. He also played on hit records by Bob James, Duran Duran, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, Yoko Ono, Meatloaf, Alice Cooper, BJ Thomas, and many others.
Barely out of junior high school, his first group was a doo-wop street corner quintet called the Velons. By the early 1960s, he had become an excellent percussionist, playing almost exclusively with Latin bands around New York.
Maelen became lead singer, percussionist and founding member of Ambergris, and played with them for a few years. For the next two or three years, he worked with several bands and did session work. By the mid 1970s, his career took off.
For most of the late 1970s into the 1980s he was one of the "first call" percussion players in New York City. During the golden years of the disco era he was especially successful, working with the remix team of Michael Barbiero and John Luongo and overdubbing on extended dance versions of disco classics such as Gonzales' "I Haven't Stopped Dancin' Yet", The Jacksons' "Blame It on the Boogie" and "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", Dan Hartman's "Vertigo/Relight My Fire", Jackie Moore's "This Time Baby" and many more. He can be heard playing seven tracks of percussion on Barry Manilow's classic hit "Copacabana". As a percussionist, he also appeared on the album, Desire Wire, made from 1978, done by Cindy Bullens. His working relationship with Barbiero and Luongo led to a solo album for Epic/Columbia in 1980, produced by the trio and entitled Beats Workin'.
Maelen's first album with Roxy Music was the critically acclaimed Avalon. He also played on the Dire Straits Brothers in Arms album, he appeared with Roxy Music at Live Aid in London. He also toured with Peter Gabriel on his first solo tour in 1977.
Maelen worked as a studio musician on Alphaville's 1986 album, Afternoons in Utopia. At the time of his death he was producing his first rock band Cherri Red, along with Gary Chester at the Edison Recording Studio in New York City. Subsequently, one of the songs "Be With You Tonight" which was written by John Bussi, was used in the film See You in the Morning directed by Alan J. Pakula.
Jimmy maelen died of leukaemia on January 14, 1988. He was 47 years old.
Discography
Solo album
Beats Workin' (1980)
With Bryan Adams
You Want It You Got It (A&M, 1981)
With Peter Allen
I Could Have Been a Sailor (A&M, 1979)
With Alphaville
Afternoons in Utopia (Atlantic, 1986)
With Blood, Sweat & Tears
No Sweat (Columbia, 1973)
With Irene Cara
Anyone Can See (Network, 1982)
With Desmond Child
Desmond Child & Rouge (Capitol, 1979)
With Linda Clifford
I'll Keep on Loving You (Capitol, 1982)
With Jude Cole
Jude Cole (Reprise Records, 1987)
With Ron Dante
Street Angel (Handshake Records, 1981)
With Mink DeVille
Coup de Grâce (Atlantic, 1981)
With Karla DeVito
Is This a Cool World or What? (Epic, 1981)
With Dion DiMucci
Return of the Wanderer (Lifesong, 1978)
With Duran Duran
Notorious (EMI, 1986)
With Bryan Ferry
Boys and Girls (E.G., 1985)
With Roberta Flack
Blue Lights in the Basement (Atlantic, 1977)
With Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel (Atco, 1977)
With Gloria Gaynor
Experience Gloria Gaynor (MGM, 1975)
Glorious (Polydor, 1977)
With Debbie Gibson
Out of the Blue (Atlantic, 1987)
With Steve Goodman
Say It in Private (Asylum Records, 1977)
With Amy Grant
Never Alone (Myrrh, 1980)
With Henry Gross
Show Me to the Stage (Lifesong, 1977)
Love Is the Stuff (Lifesong, 1978)
With Gwen Guthrie
Portrait (Island, 1983)
Good to Go Lover (Polydor, 1986)
With Hall & Oates
X-Static (RCA, 1979)
Private Eyes (RCA, 1981)
With Dan Hartman
Relight My Fire (Blue Sky, 1979)
With Loleatta Holloway
Love Sensation (Goldon Mind, 1980)
With Janis Ian
Janis Ian (Columbia Records, 1978)
Night Rains (Columbia Records, 1979)
With Paul Jabara
Paul Jabara & Friends (Columbia, 1983)
With Garland Jeffreys
Escape Artist (Epic, 1981)
Guts for Love (Epic, 1983)
With Al Johnson
Peaceful (Marina Records, 1978)
With Kiss
Love Gun (Casablanca, 1977)
With Ben E. King
Save the Last Dance for Me (EMI, 1987)
With Gladys Knight & the Pips
Still Together (Buddah, 1977)
The One and Only (Buddah, 1978)
With Kool & the Gang
Something Special (De-Lite, 1981)
As One (De-Lite, 1982)
Emergency (De-Lite, 1984)
With John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Milk and Honey (Polydor, 1984)
With O'Donel Levy
Windows (Groove Merchant, 1976)
With Nils Lofgren
Wonderland (MCA, 1983)
With Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow (Bell, 1973)
Tryin' to Get the Feeling (Arista, 1975)
Even Now (Arista, 1978)
Barry (Arista, 1980)
With Barry Mann
Lay It Out (CBS, 1971)
With Jimmy McGriff
The Mean Machine (Groove Merchant, 1976)
Red Beans (Groove Merchant, 1976)
Tailgunner (LRC, 1977)
With Frankie Miller
Dancing in the Rain (Mercury, 1986)
With Stephanie Mills
If I Were Your Woman (MCA, 1987)
With Laura Nyro
Smile (Columbia, 1976)
With Odyssey
I Got the Melody (RCA, 1981)
Happy Together (RCA, 1982)
With Yoko Ono
It's Alright (I See Rainbows) (Rykodisc, 1982)
With Leslie Pearl
Words & Music (RCA, 1982)
With Vicki Sue Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson (RCA Victor, 1976)
With Roxy Music
Avalon (Polydor, 1982)
With Jennifer Rush
Heart over Mind (CBS, 1987)
With Helen Schneider
Let It Be Now (RCA Records, 1978)
With Eddie Schwartz
Schwartz (A&M, 1980)
With Neil Sedaka
A Song (Elektra, 1977)
With Marlena Shaw
Take a Bite (Columbia, 1979)
With Carly Simon
Coming Around Again (Arista, 1987)
With Lonnie Smith
Keep on Lovin' (Groove Merchant, 1976)
With Lonnie Liston Smith
Silhouettes (Doctor Jazz, 1984)
With Bert Sommer
Bert Sommer (Capitol, 1977)
With The Spinners
Love Trippin' (Atlantic, 1980)
Labor of Love (Atlantic, 1981)
With Billy Squier
Signs of Life (Capitol, 1984)
With Dire Straits
Brothers in Arms (Vertigo, 1985)
With Barbra Streisand
Emotion (Columbia, 1984)
With James Taylor
That's Why I'm Here (Columbia, 1985)
With Andrea True
More, More, More (Buddah, 1976)
With Bonnie Tyler
Faster Than the Speed of Night (Columbia Records, 1983)
With Frankie Valli
Closeup (Private Stock, 1976)
With Kenny Vance
Short Vacation (Gold Castle, 1988)
With Village People
Fox on the Box (Metronome, 1982)
With Loudon Wainwright III
T Shirt (Arista, 1976)