Letters of support!

PLANT TALKS SHRUBBISH! (in Uncut, Spring 2005)

Regarding the interview with Robert Plant (May 2005, Take 96), I must take issue with Plant over the crass comment he made about Procol Harum’s late drummer BJ Wilson, where he stated that Wilson wasn’t in the same league as John Bonham.

I certainly agree that John Bonham was an incredible, dynamic drummer, but so was BJ Wilson.

Come off it, Percy. Do you really believe that Jimmy Page would have even considered approaching Wilson if he didn’t think he was a top-league drummer? Surely Page must have seen Wilson’s ability when he worked with him on the 1968 sessions for Joe Cocker’s With A Little Help From My Friends album.

Furthermore, even the late great Cozy Powell once commented after seeing Procol live back in 1970 that perhaps a few so-called heavy metal drummers should check out BJ Wilson and perhaps they could learn a few points on technique.

Perhaps Plant should check out the 10 Procol Harum albums that Wilson worked on, particularly Broken Barricades, Grand Hotel and Exotic Birds And Fruit, which is probably Wilson’s finest work with the band. However, to really appreciate Wilson’s talent was to witness him playing live, as he never played the obvious and was one of the most powerful, inventive and unorthodox drummers that ever lived. He didn’t just play drums, he orchestrated them.

Sadly, BJ Wilson died in tragic circumstances in 1990 and I am in no doubt if Procol Harum had made it into the ranks of the Top 10 bands of the era (in terms of sales and public attention) then Wilson’s reputation would have surpassed many of his peers. Rest in peace, Barrie BJ Wilson.
Dan Kirby, Sidcup, Kent


HEAVY AS LED

How surprising to read, between the lines, that Robert Plant harbours resentment towards his more critically acclaimed, more talented contemporaries The Who and the Stones. I guess that on planet Zeppelin, the album charts of the 1970s were a Corinthian contest of quality untainted by the whims of the market.

As a consumer of less rarefied air, I recall a plethora of pop compilations and disco soundtracks, each more fun than a Zeppelin opus. Fact is, once over the utter self-absorption of adolescence, Led Zeppelin’s music has nothing to offer bar a sense of time passing discordantly and far too bloody slowly.
Kevin Doyle, Cheetham, Manchester

Thanks to 'Beyond The Pale'
http://www.procolharum.com/bjtxt13.htm

Barrie on You Tube

There are several videos with BJ as drummer, currently to be seen amongst the Joe Cocker and Procol Harum posts. Check them out.

I love this (Dylan) tune below, not just for BJ's contribution although I recognised his phrasing and drumming immediately. For me his best work was with Procol Harum, with whom he worked for ten years. Prior to Procol he had been drummer in The Paramounts in the mid-sixties. They had had moderate success with one of their singles "Poison Ivy" and had toured with both The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, but never got the success they deserved, plus Robin Trower left, due largely to pressure from their record company who'd wanted them to pursue popular music and forgo the R&B they did well. After the band split for good, Gary Brooker started Procol Harum, largely with musicians from the original Paramounts, including: BJ Wilson, Robin Trower, Chris Copping and Gary Brooker.

Joe Cocker at his best below.

You Tube Added February 24, 2007From Krumden

Obituary for Barrie J Wilson

This is one version anyway, I'm sure there are far better and more personal obituaries elsewhere. See the website 'Beyond The Pale' has it's own BJ page at www.procolharum.com/procolbj.htm check it out, it's got lots of information here.


Born : Edmondon, N.London, Mar. 18, 1947, England
Died : Oct. 8, 1990 Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon, USA
Left : Two daughters with ex wife, Sue Wilson.
Rests in Peace: Oakland Cemetary, Corvallis, Oregon, USA Block 9, Section 59, Plot 6.




Occupation: Musician - Drummer, Percussion.



He was the drummer for the British group Procol Harum. Barrie quickly took the place of their original drummer Bobby Harrison in 1967. He played on all their classic LPs, including Shine On Brightly (1968), A Salty Dog (1969), Home (1970), Broken Barricades(1971), Live With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (1972), and Grand Hotel (1973). With the band's structured songs, he brought a fast powerful style to their sound. He played with the group until they disbanded in 1977. He also drummed for Joe Cocker. He lived in Oregon with his wife Sue and family, and he died there of pneumonia in 1990. He was in my eyes uncomparable as a drummer. He had style.

To steal a beautiful quote from Steve Braitman, because it says it all.

' ... BJ was the true heart of Procol Harum ... BJ's drumming was almost literary – following and emphasizing the narrative with far more power and passion than any mere beat structure.

... In the usual descriptions of Procol Harum's style, "grandeur" is a typical adjective. BJ created that grandeur with stunning punctuations, great open spaces, surprising reversals of rhythm.

... BJ Wilson made the drums express both the unpredictability and inevitability of fate. He was awesome, and he will be missed.'

Stephen Braitman, letter to the Editor, Goldmine Magazine, 31 May 1991

BJ Wilson - today would be his birthday

b. 18th March 1947 ~ d. 8th October 1990


Drummer of Procol Harum from 1967 to 1977.



It was a short life, but if you were ever lucky enough to see him in action as drummer to Procol Harum, you could have seen that he packed a lot of living into those 46 years.

He was very much loved by PH fans. And I mean VERY much Loved! I am sure most that met him and got to know him would not forget the guy. He had little ego but knew he was a capable and very gifted drummer. He very nearly drummed for Led Zeppelin after getting on Page & Plant's shortlist. He also drummed for Joe Cocker and others, but for most of his career it was two bands, The Paramounts and Procol Harum.

You couldn't go to a Procol concert and miss the fact that BJ, Barrie James Wilson was an incredibly skilful percussionist/drummer/sticksman.

I'm not a musician, but I recognise technical prowess when it stares me in the face and he was a master of his trade. I would go to Procol gigs and be transfixed by his drumming. It was like watching Nureyev dancing on stage, he was just amazingly clever and gifted.

Procol Harum would not have been the same without him. He helped construct the songs, adding an embellished bit of technical wizardry via his drumkit, it was almost like the added punctuation in a paragraph, to me.


Please check out 'Beyond the Pale' for more information :-
http://www.procolharum.com/

and for a great synopsis of Wilson, via a better fan than me...

http://community-2.webtv.net/Jem33nospamplez/druminfo/index.html

and the Wikipedia page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.J._Wilson