LYMPHOMA KILLS KNACK DRUMMER GARY.Byline: FRED SHUSTER Staff Writer Bruce Gary Bruce Gary (7 April 1951 – 22 August 2006) was best known as the drummer for the music group The Knack. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards as a stage performer, producer, and recording artist. , the energetic drummer of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. power-pop quartet the Knack, died Tuesday. He was 55. Gary, a Valley native who attended Taft High School and lived in Encino, died at Tarzana Regional Medical Center of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma non-Hodg·kin's lymphoma n. Any of various malignant lymphomas characterized by the absence of Reed-Sternberg cells. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after battling the disease for most of the decade, his mother, Helen Gary of Calabasas, said. Gary recorded and performed with hundreds of local and international acts, but is best known for his years in the Knack, whose Grammy Award- nominated ``My Sharona'' spent six weeks at No. 1 in summer 1979. A lifelong musician, Gary's first band opened for the Kinks at Pierce College In 2006 the Library won a national Excellence award. Academics Pierce College offers associate's degrees, mainly in the arts and sciences. There are also certificate programs in early childhood education, social services, dental hygienist, and others. in 1969. In the '70s, he played on countless sessions at Capitol Records Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI, located in Hollywood, California. Its headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine. . "Feel is everything to a drummer - how he or she swings," Doors drummer John Densmore said. "Bruce had the greatest feel. Not only that, he had the fastest bass drum in the West. He could do a roll with his foot. Technique isn't everything, though Bruce had it in spades." In 1978, Gary and Doug Fieger, Prescott Niles and Berton Averre formed the Knack, utilizing a sharp guitar-based attack rooted in the English Invasion pop of the '60s. During early Knack shows at the Troubadour troubadour One of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians, often of knightly rank, that flourished from the 11th through the 13th century, chiefly in Provence and other regions of southern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy. in West Hollywood, the quartet was joined by Bruce Springsteen, Stephen Stills, Ray Manzarek and others. The group's debut album, ``Get the Knack,'' was recorded in just 11 days and cost just $18,000. Final sales topped 4 million copies. ``During our club period, we rehearsed daily at an old storage complex in Hollywood,'' Gary once recalled. ``Our guitarist brought in a song he was working on, which eventually became `My Sharona.' He wanted it to feel similar to the Miracles' hit, `Going to a Go-Go.' As we rehearsed it, I had the idea to inject a sort of surf drum beat.'' Gary is survived by his mother and a sister, Felice Catena ca·te·na n. pl. ca·te·nae or ca·te·nas A closely linked series, especially of excerpted writings or commentaries. [Latin cat of Encino. A memorial service is set for 2 p.m. Sunday at Eden Memorial Park, 11500 Sepulveda Blvd., Mission Hills. fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3676 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The wrong photograph ran with this obituary of Bruce Gary in Friday's edition of the Daily News. We regret the error. |
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