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| Sadly, percussionist/songwriter Don Heffington has passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 70. He'll be greatly missed. |
Dave Alvin remembers Don Heffington
"I don't know what to say. Don Heffington has passed away. Goddamn I'm gonna miss him.
"To say Don was a great drummer/musician just doesn't cut it. I've known Don for forty years and he was always (and I stress always) an inspiration to me. Don was always the coolest guy in the room. He had been a teenage jazz prodigy who saw John Coltrane playing on West Adams as well as hanging out at the Ash Grove soaking in the blues. A few years later, Don worked as the house drummer at Art Laboe's Oldies But Goodies club on Sunset, backing up every doo wop group, one hit wonder and rock and roll legend that stepped on it's stage. Somewhere along the line he also became a rock solid country drummer that could swing a country shuffle with the best Nashville had to offer.
"He played/recorded/toured with Dylan (that's Don on Dylan's surreal opus Brownsville Girl), Emmylou Harris, Lone Justice, Chuck E. Weiss, Buddy Miller, Peter Case, Victoria Williams, Lucinda Williams, Van Dyke Parks, Rosie Flores, Ronee Blakley, Amy Allison and the list goes on and on. He also played drums on most of my solo records from Ashgrove onwards through Eleven Eleven to parts of my albums with my brother Phil, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and up to my recent From An Old Guitar release (that's Don laying down the groovin' back beat on my version of Highway 61 Revisited, showing why Dylan once said that Don was his favorite blues drummer).
"But Don was also a songwriter/poet who wrote amazing, quirky songs that defy easy descriptions. He was always pushing ahead artistically/philosophically, whether it was producing albums or searching for the right rhythms and always reaching for something that no one had played before. Playing with Don was always exciting, educational and a flat out gas. With his all knowing hipster smile, he gently pushed you into performances that you didn't know you had in you.
"Here is a fuzzy shot of Greg Leisz, Don, Bob Glaub and me (taken by engineer Craig Parker Adams at his Winslow Court Studio) when we were recording my album, Ashgrove. I have so many warm, inspirational, hilarious memories of recording various albums/songs/goof-offs with Don through the years, but the Ashgrove sessions are perhaps the closest to my heart. All four of us were kids that hung out/grew up at the Ash Grove and learned so much about music/life there. Because of that fact, for the Ashgrove sessions, I called this quartet, The All Star Ash Grove Kids Blues Orchestra.
"I still don't know what to say except that I will be forever grateful to have known, made music with, laughed with and learned from Don Heffington. Goddamn I'm gonna miss him." - Dave Alvin
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