Michael Clarke (musician)
Michael Clarke (born Michael James Dick; June 3, 1946 – December 19, 1993) was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the 1960s rock group the Byrds from 1964 to 1967.[1] He died in 1993, at age 47, from liver failure, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.
For other people named Michael Clarke, see Michael Clarke (disambiguation).
Michael Clarke
Michael James Dick
June 3, 1946
Spokane, Washington, U.S.
December 19, 1993 (aged 47)
Treasure Island, Florida, U.S.
Musician
Drums, percussion
1964–1993
Biography[edit]
Early years[edit]
Clarke was born in Spokane, Washington. His father was a pipefitter and his mother was an amateur musician. Clarke left home when he was 17 years old and hitchhiked to California to become a musician. In legend, Clarke was said to have been discovered by Byrds' founder David Crosby while playing bongos on a beach. In fact he was discovered by singer-songwriter Ivan Ulz, in North Beach, San Francisco.
The Byrds[edit]
Clarke was not an accomplished musician prior to joining the Byrds but he did have previous experience of drumming in his younger years before joining the group. He had played the drums before but, after joining the Byrds, not having a drum set, practiced on a makeshift kit of cardboard boxes[1] and a tambourine, but he did have real drum sticks.[2] According to lead guitarist Roger McGuinn's web site, Clarke was hired by McGuinn and Gene Clark for his resemblance to Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones. Clarke's strength as a drummer is considered to be illustrated by his jazz-oriented playing on the Byrds' "Eight Miles High",[1] on the Fifth Dimension album.
Though not a prolific songwriter, unlike the other members of the Byrds, Clarke’s compositional contributions with the band encompass co-writing credits for the songs "Captain Soul", an instrumental from the Fifth Dimension album (based on Lee Dorsey's "Get Out Of My Life, Woman"), and "Artificial Energy" from The Notorious Byrd Brothers.[3] He was also given an arrangement co-credit for two traditional songs that appeared on Fifth Dimension: "Wild Mountain Thyme" and "John Riley" (although the latter is credited to Bob Gibson and songwriter/arranger Ricky Neff on the album itself).[3][4]
In August 1967, during the recording sessions for The Notorious Byrd Brothers album, Clarke walked out on the Byrds and was temporarily replaced by session drummers Jim Gordon and Hal Blaine.[5] Clarke had recently become dissatisfied with his role in the band and didn't particularly like the new material that the songwriting members were providing.[3] However, Clarke continued to honor his live concert commitments, appearing at a handful of shows during late August and early September 1967.[5] Clarke returned from his self-imposed exile in time to contribute drums to the song "Artificial Energy" in early December 1967,[6] but was subsequently fired from the band by McGuinn and bass player Chris Hillman once The Notorious Byrd Brothers album was completed.[7]