Nigel Olsson of Elton John

Nigel Olsson has been Elton John's drummer off and on since the early 70s. Nigel's playing on Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting is pretty cool. He's very active and uses lots of fills to give the song edge. He doesn't play an ostinato on kick drum as much as a moving line that weaves in and out of the bass part. When playing this, I recommend playing off of the the rhythmic vocal line. Click here for Nigel Olsson Drum Chart



N Olsson (born February 10, 1949 in Wallasey, Merseyside, England) is a rock drummer best known for his work with Elton John.

Career Olsson's first album appearance was in the band Plastic Penny, which released the album Two Sides of a Penny on Page One Records in 1968. Nigel sang on only one song on that album -- "I Want You." Subsequently, he played drums and sang backing vocals on John's early 1970s albums, teaming with guitarist Davey Johnstone, bassist Dee Murray, and percussionist Ray Cooper to form what most rock fans regard as Elton John's classic backing band.

In 1971, Olsson produced and released the solo album Nigel Olsson's Drum Orchestra and Chorus on Universal Records, featuring Murray and early 70s Elton John guitarist Caleb Quaye. By 1975, Elton John retooled his sound, and Olsson, along with Murray, was released from the band. His second solo album, Nigel Olsson, appeared that year on John's Rocket Record label, and featured a mild hit in a cover of the Bee Gees' "Only One Woman". That song also featured the combination of Johnstone, Murray and Cooper. The album, produced by Robert Appere, contained few rock numbers and was mostly a bow to the emerging "Philly" sound of the mid-1970s.

He continued working as a studio musician, releasing another self-titled album that was produced by Paul Davis on Columbia in 1978. Although that album brought no Top 40 recognition, in 1979, he released the album Nigel and enjoyed some mild success as a solo artist, scoring a pair of Top 40 hits on the US Pop charts with "A Little Bit of Soap" and "Dancin' Shoes," the latter of which cracked the Top 20.

In 1980, he released the album Changing Tides on CBS's Bang Records, but the album failed to achieve chart success. That same year, Olsson returned to Elton's band to begin a four-year tenure, working with John for sessions on albums such as 21 at 33 and The Fox. He re-teamed with band mates Dee Murray and Davey Johnstone for the tour behind Elton's 1982 album Jump Up!, and stayed with the reformed classic-era band through the next two albums and tours for Too Low for Zero (1983) and Breaking Hearts (1984). Following a lineup change, the band mates would rejoin only once more in 1988 for backing vocals on Reg Strikes Back prior to Murray's death in January, 1992.

Later, in 1991, Olsson reunited with former band mate Davey Johnstone to form the Warpipes, though this group disbanded shortly after cutting its debut album. Olsson then spent the next few years relaxing in California with his wife Schanda and son Justin, and racing vintage cars for fun.

Olsson returned to Elton John's band for good in 2000 as part of his touring band, alternating between drums and backing vocals on certain songs. (The songs Olsson did not play drums on, typically the newer songs, were handled by Curt Bisquera.) Nigel took over the full-time touring drumming chores when Bisquera left to pursue other projects. Olsson, never seen on stage without his trademark headphones and gloves, has been said to have a soulful singing voice.

In the studio, he played and sang backing vocals on several tracks on Elton's Songs From the West Coast (2001). He then played all drums on Peachtree Road (2004) and The Captain & The Kid (2006), as well as continuing in the touring band, along with Johnstone, Bob Birch (bass), Guy Babylon (keyboards) and John Mahon (percussion).

Nigel Olsson also served a very brief time with the English hard rock band Uriah Heep, playing drums for some songs on its 1970 debut LP, Very 'eavy... Very 'umble.

The above article is from wikipedia