Johnny "Bee" Badanjek played on Alice Cooper's 1975 classic album "Welcome to My Nightmare". More recently Johnny Badanjek toured with Detroit blues/rock and boogie artist Michael Katon.



Biography:

At 16, John (Johnny Bee) Badanjek (pronounced: buh-dan-jek) was the drummer for the Motor City's premier rock and roll band, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. There he hammered out one of the three greatest drum breaks in the history of rock, according to Rolling Stone Magazine (On "Devil With A Blue Dress").



After the group disbanded in 1967, "Bee" toured and recorded with Edgar Winter, Alice Cooper, Dr. John, Bob Seger, Ronnie Montrose, Nils Lofgren and others, providing the backbeat for some of rock's legendary tracks.



But Johnny Bee's preeminent position in the nation's hard rock hall-of-fame was not won with sticks alone -- in 1972, he co-founded The Rockets as a showcase for his songwriting skills. He served in a dual role as drummer/lead vocalist until 1976 -- when they opted for a bluesier voice.



Bee's songs launched the group into national prominence, and proved his ability to score consistently on the nation's pop music charts ("Can't Sleep", "Turn Up the Radio","Takin' It Back").



In 1992, Bee toured Europe with Nils Lofgren and drummed on Nil's Rykodisc release, The Crooked Line. Bee recently toured and recorded with The Romantics and is spending much of his time working with his new band, Broken Toys writing and demo-ing new material.



Notable Facts:

Original/only drummer with Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels - 7 top-40 hits (including "Jenny Take a Ride", "Devil With a Blue Dress On") 4 gold LP's.

Played/recorded with Alice Cooper - including hit "Welcome To My Nightmare"

Played/recorded with Edgar Winter - including hit "Free Ride"

Played/recorded with Dr. John

Co-founded Detroit featuring Mitch Ryder - hit "Rock & Roll"

Co-founded The Rockets and wrote almost all the material for the 6 releases

Played/recorded with Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren

Played/recorded with Bob Seger

Played/recorded with Ronnie Montrose

Cover picture of, and the first interview in Bruce Springsteen's drummer Max Weinberg's book, "The Big Beat-Conversations with Rock's Great Drummers"

Ludwig Drums endorser - featured in book on the history of Ludwig Drums

Featured on Max Weinberg's 1994 3-CD Rhino release Let There Be Drums

Featured on Dr. John's 1994 Rhino release The Dr. John Anthology

Calato Regal Tip Drum Sticks and Zildjian cymbals endorser