As reported this week by Ultimate Classic Rock, John “Little John” Hartman, the band’s original drummer and member of The Doobie Brothers, passed away at 72.
On their official social media pages, the current Doobie Brothers—including fellow founders Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons—announced the passing of the man they dubbed “Little John.”
John was a performance artist, a terrific drummer, and a wild character. He was also a longtime buddy and integral to the band’s identity.
The cause of his death is still unknown. We are still looking for information on how he died, we will keep you updated.
American drummer John Thomas Hartman, a founding member and original drummer of the Doobie Brothers, was born on March 18, 1950. Hartman was the only drummer when the group first started. However, the duo-drummer setup has continued since the group hired a second drummer Michael Hossack before the end of 1971. Keith Knudsen replaced Hossack in 1973.
The majority of the Doobie Brothers’ famous singles from the 1970s featured Hartman in collaboration with Tom Johnston and Michael McDonald. After a promotional tour favouring the acclaimed Minute by Minute record, he left early in 1979 to take care of Arabian horses on his California property.
He appeared on well-known songs like “Listen To The Music” from 1972, “Long Train Runnin'” from 1973, and “What a Fool Believes” from 1978. The band also had two songs that peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 during Hartman’s spell.
After leaving the group in 1979, Hartman returned for the 1989 reunion album Cycles. He then resumed performing with the Doobie Brothers up until his 1992 retirement.
As a member of the Doobie Brothers, Hartman was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, along with eight other musicians from the group’s lengthy career.
One of the wealthiest and most well-known drummers is John Hartman. Our study of John Hartman’s net worth from sources like Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider indicates that it is about $1.5 million.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.