Keith “Keef” Hartley
April 8, 1944 – November 26, 2011
Keef Hartley was a British drummer whose first notable gig came when he replaced Ringo Starr in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes when Starr was hired away by the Beatles. It wouldn’t be a stretch in fact, to call Storm and his band equally popular as the Beatles throughout England – albeit during their early days only. Following his tenure with Storm, Hartley went on to play with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. He can be heard on such Mayall albums as The Blues Alone and Crusade. Hartley went on to form the Keef Hartley Band – a jazz rock combo in the vein of Chicago. In 1969, the group played Woodstock, but unfortunately followed Santana who had just played one of their greatest sets ever, so needless to say, they didn’t leave as lasting an impression as they might have otherwise. Hartley went on to release several albums that did moderately well over the years. Keef Hartley was 67 when he passed away on November 26, 2011. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Thanks to Henk de Bruin at 2+ Printing for the assist.
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