Session drummer James Gadson is a veteran of many pop and film with over 300 Gold records to his credit. He has been recording since the '60s. Gadson worked with great artists including Otis Redding, Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, Donald Fagen, Herbie Hancock, Beck and Jamie Cullum.

As a teen he naturally took to the drums with the influence of his father Harold, who was a drummer in the legendary Kansas City scene.

James eventually found his way to L.A. and joined the legendary 60's funky soul group, Dyke & the Blazers, where he laid down drums on "let a woman be a woman" which later would be sampled by the Bomb Squad for Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrodome." After Dyke's tragic murder and still in L.A., he and other members of the Blazers would end up forming The Watts 103rd Street Band and with the help of Bill Cosby hooked a record deal with Warner Bros.

He wrote and sang on some songs like the soulful "dance a kiss & a song".

He played on the best known 103rd Street cuts like "Express yourself," which was sampled by Dre for NWA's "Express Yourself". This was just the beginning for Gadson's profilic career, which next found him in the mix with Bill Withers producing, writing, and playing on the soulcessful Still Bill LP, which featured "Use Me," "Lean on Me," and the funky "Kissing my Love," which has been sampled to no end.

The Jungle Brothers cut up his drums live for "Straight out the Jungle."

From there he became one the most sought out studio drummers, playing on 300 gold records at last count, though you would never suspect it from his ever-humble disposition.

He played on Marvin Gaye's "Let's get it on," the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Herbie Hancock's Manchild, and most recently Beck, Paul McCartney, and Ray Charles discs.

James Gadson is simply put, one of the most recorded drummers in the history of R&B music.  Working with everyone from Marvin Gaye to Norah Jones, Aretha Franklin to Justin Timberlake, Gadson's prolific career easily spans 6 decades. In the 1960's, the funky soul group, Dyke & the Blazers featured James on "Let A Woman Be A Woman", which later was sampled by the Bomb Squad for Public Enemy's "Welcome To The Terrodome."  James and other members of the Blazers ended up forming The Watts 103rd Street Band and Gadson wrote and sang on some of their best-known songs including "Dance A Kiss and A Song" and "Express yourself," which was later sampled by Dre for NWA's "Express Yourself".  This was just the beginning of Gadson's prolific career. 

James Gadson's work on iconic singer/songwriter Bill Withers' album "Still Bill", featured hits like "Use Me", "Lean on Me" and "Kissing my Love" and  brought him into the mainstream.  Bill Wither's "Live At Carnegie Hall" featured James and soon, he quickly became one of the most sought-after studio drummers.  The great Jeff Porcaro once quoted when asked about his well-known right-hand technique…simply, "Gadson". 

James Gadson has played on over 500 gold records and hundreds of Motown sessions, including Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and Herbie Hancock's "Manchild".  He's appeared on recordings with The Temptations, Martha Reeves, Rose Royce, Randy Crawford, Quincy Jones, BB King, Albert King, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Boz Scaggs, Leonard Cohen, Smokey Robinson, Amos Lee and so many others.  In 2009, Gadson joined Beck, Wilco, Feist and Jamie Lidell covering Skip Spence's Oar as part of Beck's Record Club series.  He has played on Beck's albums "Sea Change" and "The Information", as well as Jamie Lidell's 2010 album "Compass".  Recent live shows with Beck included James double-drumming with Beck's Indie drumming champion - Joey Waronker.   James Gadson also appeared on Paul McCartney's album "Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard", on the tracks "At The Mercy" and "Riding To Vanity Fair".  He' currently busy recording and playing live in Los Angeles and completing a solo record, featuring him on drums and lead vocals.  James Gadson's "Funk R&B Drumming" DVD, from Hal Leonard publishing, is a must-have for every drummer serious about playing drums.