John Hartman: 5 Things To Know About The Doobie Brothers Drummer Dead At 72

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Doobie Brothers co-founder and drummer John Hartman passed away on Thursday, September 22 at the age of 72. The Doobie Brothers Twitter account, who is currently on tour, announced the sad news. “Today we are thinking about John Hartman, or John Little to us,” the statement began. “John was a wild spirit, a great drummer and a performer during his time in the Doobies. He’s also been a close friend for many years and an intricate inner part of the band’s personality! “The cause of death was not immediately released.

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– The Doobie Brothers (@TheDoobieBros) September 22, 2022

Born in Virginia in 1950, music has always been a part of John’s life. In fact, he moved to California at the age of 19 to pursue music, a move that worked wonders for him. Read on to learn more about the original Doobie Brothers drummer.

John Hartman started the Doobie brothers by accident

When John was eager to hit the road to northern California in 1969, he made plans to join the band Moby Grape’s special reunion, according to the Doobie Brothers’ website. While that didn’t work out, a member of Moby Grape introduced John to the local singer/songwriter Tom Johnston, and they immediately beat it. The duo started out playing local bars in the Bay Area, and they eventually met and later added singer/guitarist Pat Simmons for the band. Although their first album was not very successful, their second album, Toulouse Street, became a huge hit and catapulted the band to stardom. Some of their most popular songs to date are “Listen to the Music” and “Black Water”. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.

John Hartman left the band 9 years later

Hartman made eight albums with the Doobie Brothers before leaving in 1979. “Everything fell apart,” says John. Rolling Stone in 2020 about his decision to split from the band just before their 10th anniversary. “I remember sitting in a rehearsal in California and hearing Michael [McDonald] said he didn’t want to get out of the car because he was nervous. However, he returned to the band for the 1989 reunion album, Cycleand played with them until officially retiring in 1992.

John Hartman wants a career change

After leaving the Doobie Brothers, John had a major career change and enrolled in and graduated from the police academy. Unfortunately, his reputation is thwarted and he is not taken seriously. He was turned down by 20 police departments across California before giving up on that dream. It doesn’t help that his band is named after a way of smoking marijuana.

John Hartman used to smoke quite a lot

It’s no coincidence that his band is named after marijuana. John admits New York Times in 1994 that he had smoked enough that the police department had to turn the other way. “These people still think I’m a credibility problem because of what I’ve done,” he theorized. “I picked myself up from the drain.”

John Hartman is more complete after his initial departure from the band

In an interview to promote Cycle in 1989, the band told Related press that they have calmed down since the early years of touring. “The road treats us the same, we don’t treat it the same,” John, who has lost 70 pounds since his last tour, noted at the time. “We’re not moving hotel rooms anymore, and we don’t have a door-to-door war with renting a car, burning down stages and things of that sort,” Tom Johnston added. “Everybody’s become a little more selective, especially when they’re married, they don’t mess around.”