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From the Ray Davies Autobiography
- II X-RAY"
"I had heard Bobby Graham playing on other records and was
bowled over by his style & power, he added a tidiness and
a dimension to our sound.
On the session for 'You Really Got Me' when Dave played
the opening chords, Bobby Graham forgot the complicated introduction
he had planned, and just thumped one beat on the snare drum with
as much power as he could muster, and for the next three minutes
he was one of us. After
the take Graham smiled and started to pack up his kit so that
he would be out of the way when we did the vocals.
He knew that we had done something special'
Les Reed OBE -
Composer/Arranger/Musical Director.
I first met Bobby Graham when as Musical Director for Pye records
sister label, Piccadilly Records, I was asked to oversee the
recording of Joe Brown and The Bruvver's single 'A Picture of
You'. On that session
I was very impressed with Joe Brown's Drummer, Bobby Graham who
had all the aspects of a good solid sideman, and, indeed, I felt
would make an excellent session drummer, he had a technique and
feel that was really quite remarkable for his young age.
From that day forward, I booked Bobby
on many Sessions for the likes of P.J.Proby, Tom Jones, The Dave
Clark 5 and many other star names of the day and, on every recording,
his work was just superb.
His expertise as a drummer soon reached the ears of other
Musical Directors and, within a very short time he ended up as
THE top session drummer and appeared on literally thousands
of successful recordings.
He is a most sensitive musician, a good
friend and indeed, a wonderful family man.
Russ Ballard - Hit Songwriter and
Guitarist
I first met Bobby Graham when he joined Mike Berry and The Outlaws;
I felt the same as everyone who saw him play that night, he was
in a different league to any other drummer that I'd ever seen.
Bob and I have been good friends over the
years; we have played together many times and his formidable
gift, as a drummer never ceases to amaze me,
He is big hearted, caring, and always
there when you need a friend - a very special friend.
Mike Berry - Actor/Singer
Bobby Graham was and still is today, the finest drummer that
I have ever worked with.. Because you see, Bobby is one of those
very rare breed of great musicians - a natural, he doesn't need
to work at it, he just does it right, he instinctively knows
when to put it in and when to leave it out . . .. if you'll excuse
the expression.
There's not a lot more to say in musical
terms, suffice to say, that many, and most of the top producers
and musicians in the U.K have confirmed my opinion over the past
forty years.
Marty Wilde - Singer/Actor/Producer
Bobby
is a great drummer - Testimony to this is that he played with
both Marty Wilde and Joe Brown and survived intact! I remember
that Bobby and I used to spend most of our time laughing at life
- it was great to work with him as he had 'the touch' and a technique-that
no other drummer could match!
Hal Blaine - Top American Session
Drummerand author of "The Wrecking Crew"
During the late fifties I came to Hollywood and started making
a name for myself in the recording industry, little did I know
that I had a counterpart across the big pond in Merrie Olde England
... his name? Bobby
Graham. I had heard his name many times and had listened to the
great hit records of the day that Bobby had worked on but had
never met him, although our careers have run in parallel ever
since those formative days of Rock and Roll.
Bob, you are still one hell of a Drummer
in both the Jazz & Rock fields, I wish you all the best this
old planet can hand us in the future, although we are now both
approaching the Coda of our lives, I know that we will be paralleling
again in the near future.
Stay well my friend, and all the best to you, and your
fans, and listeners of those historic great recordings!
Shel Talmy
- Legendary
American producer of The Kinks - David Bowie - The
Who
For me Bobby Graham was the greatest
drummer the UK has ever produced.
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