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.

Maelen died of leukemia on January 14, 1988. He was 47 years old.

Discography
Solo album With Bryan Adams With Peter Allen With Alphaville With Blood, Sweat & Tears With Irene Cara With Desmond Child With Linda Clifford With Jude Cole With Ron Dante With Mink DeVille With Karla DeVito With Dion DiMucci With Duran Duran With Bryan Ferry With Roberta Flack With Peter Gabriel With Gloria Gaynor With Debbie Gibson With Steve Goodman With Amy Grant With Henry Gross With Gwen Guthrie With Hall & Oates With Dan Hartman With Loleatta Holloway With Janis Ian With Garland Jeffreys With Al Johnson With Kiss With Ben E. King With Kool & the Gang With John Lennon and Yoko Ono With O'Donel Levy With Nils Lofgren With Barry Manilow With Barry Mann With Jimmy McGriff With Frankie Miller With Stephanie Mills With Laura Nyro With Odyssey With Yoko Ono With Leslie Pearl With Vicki Sue Robinson With Roxy Music With Jennifer Rush With Helen Schneider With Eddie Schwartz With Neil Sedaka With Marlena Shaw With Carly Simon With Lonnie Smith With Lonnie Liston Smith With Bert Sommer With Billy Squier With Dire Straits With Barbra Streisand With James Taylor With Andrea True With Bonnie Tyler With Frankie Valli With Kenny Vance With Village People With Loudon Wainwright III
 * Beats Workin' (1980)
 * You Want It You Got It (A&M, 1981)
 * I Could Have Been a Sailor (A&M, 1979)
 * Afternoons in Utopia (Atlantic, 1986)
 * No Sweat (Columbia, 1973)
 * Anyone Can See (Network, 1982)
 * Desmond Child & Rouge (Capitol, 1979)
 * I'll Keep on Loving You (Capitol, 1982)
 * Jude Cole (Reprise Records, 1987)
 * Street Angel (Handshake Records, 1981)
 * Coup de Grâce (Atlantic, 1981)
 * Is This a Cool World or What? (Epic, 1981)
 * Return of the Wanderer (Lifesong, 1978)
 * Notorious (EMI, 1986)
 * Boys and Girls (E.G., 1985)
 * Blue Lights in the Basement (Atlantic, 1977)
 * Peter Gabriel (Atco, 1977)
 * Experience Gloria Gaynor (MGM, 1975)
 * Glorious (Polydor, 1977)
 * Out of the Blue (Atlantic, 1987)
 * Say It in Private (Asylum Records, 1977)
 * Never Alone (Myrrh, 1980)
 * Show Me to the Stage (Lifesong, 1977)
 * Love Is the Stuff (Lifesong, 1978)
 * Portrait (Island, 1983)
 * Good to Go Lover (Polydor, 1986)
 * X-Static (RCA, 1979)
 * Private Eyes (RCA, 1981)
 * Relight My Fire (Blue Sky, 1979)
 * Love Sensation (Goldon Mind, 1980)
 * Janis Ian (Columbia Records, 1978)
 * Night Rains (Columbia Records, 1979)
 * Escape Artist (Epic, 1981)
 * Guts for Love (Epic, 1983)
 * Peaceful (Marina Records, 1978)
 * Love Gun (Casablanca, 1977)
 * Save the Last Dance for Me (EMI, 1987)
 * Something Special (De-Lite, 1981)
 * As One (De-Lite, 1982)
 * Emergency (De-Lite, 1984)
 * Milk and Honey (Polydor, 1984)
 * Windows (Groove Merchant, 1976)
 * Wonderland (MCA, 1983)
 * Barry Manilow (Bell, 1973)
 * Tryin' to Get the Feeling (Arista, 1975)
 * Even Now (Arista, 1978)
 * Barry (Arista, 1980)
 * Lay It Out (CBS, 1971)
 * The Mean Machine (Groove Merchant, 1976)
 * Red Beans (Groove Merchant, 1976)
 * Tailgunner (LRC, 1977)
 * Dancing in the Rain (Mercury, 1986)
 * If I Were Your Woman (MCA, 1987)
 * Smile (Columbia, 1976)
 * I Got the Melody (RCA, 1981)
 * Happy Together (RCA, 1982)
 * It's Alright (I See Rainbows) (Rykodisc, 1982)
 * Words & Music (RCA, 1982)
 * Vicki Sue Robinson (RCA Victor, 1976)
 * Avalon (Polydor, 1982)
 * Heart over Mind (CBS, 1987)
 * Let It Be Now (RCA Records, 1978)
 * Schwartz (A&M, 1980)
 * A Song (Elektra, 1977)
 * Take a Bite (Columbia, 1979)
 * Coming Around Again (Arista, 1987)
 * Keep on Lovin' (Groove Merchant, 1976)
 * Silhouettes (Doctor Jazz, 1984)
 * Bert Sommer (Capitol, 1977)
 * Signs of Life (Capitol, 1984)
 * Brothers in Arms (Vertigo, 1985)
 * Emotion (Columbia, 1984)
 * That's Why I'm Here (Columbia, 1985)
 * More, More, More (Buddah, 1976)
 * Faster Than the Speed of Night (Columbia Records, 1983)
 * Closeup (Private Stock, 1976)
 * Short Vacation (Gold Castle, 1988)
 * Fox on the Box (Metronome, 1982)
 * T Shirt (Arista, 1976)