Kwasi "Rocky" Dzidzornu (28 February 1932 – 13 March 1993), also known as Rocky Dijon, was a Ghanaian percussionist known for his 1960s and '70s work with rock and R&B artists.
Biography Dzidzornu was born in the British Gold Coast colony (later Ghana), on 28 February 1932. In the 1960s and 1970s, he played with acts such as the Rolling Stones, Nick Drake, Ginger Baker, Stevie Wonder, Billy Preston, Taj Mahal, and Joe Walsh."Ladies & lords take a bow for Master Drummer & Percussionist from Ghana Kwasi 'Rocky Dijon' Dzidzornu"Blakk Pepper. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
In 1968, producer Jimmy Miller enlisted Dzidzornu to record with the Rolling Stones."Ranking the Rolling Stones: Moments that matter from the Navy Pier show" Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-07-03. He played on the albums Beggars Banquet (1968) and Let It Bleed (1969). He also appeared in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus concert and film. In 1971, he appeared on "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" from Sticky Fingers. Bill Wyman also enlisted him on his 1976 solo album Stone Alone.
War's drummer Harold Brown has named him as an important influence and also credits him with teaching Ginger Baker.Jim Payne and Harry Weinger, The Great Drummers of R&B Funk & Soul (Mel Bay Publications, 2007), , pp. 148ff. Excerpts available at Google Books. Critic Ned Sublette has written that the addition of his conga drumming on "Sympathy for the Devil" transformed the song from "a dirge, and a dull one at that ... making it come alive".Ned Sublette, "The Kingsmen and the Cha-Cha-Chá", in Eric Weisbard, ed., Listen Again: A Momentary History of Pop Music (Duke University Press, 2007), , p. 90. Excerpt available at Google Books.See also Stephen Davis, Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones (Random House Digital, Inc., 2001), . Excerpts available at Google Books.
Dzidzornu died in California on 13 March 1993.
Selected discography 1968: The Rolling Stones, Beggars Banquet 1969: Nick Drake, Five Leaves Left 1969: The Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed 1970: John and Beverley Martyn, The Road to Ruin 1970: Ginger Baker's Air Force, Ginger Baker's Air Force 2 1970: Peter Bardens's Village, The Answer 1971: The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers 1971: Taj Mahal, The Real Thing 1971: Taj Mahal, Happy Just to Be Like I Am 1974: Stevie Wonder, Fulfillingness' First Finale 1974: Minnie Riperton, Perfect Angel 1974: Taj Mahal, Mo' Roots 1975: Taj Mahal, Music Keeps Me Together 1975: Billy Preston, It's My Pleasure 1975: Hugh Masekela, The Boys Don't Do It 1976: Bill Wyman, Stone Alone 1976: Joe Walsh, You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind 1976: Taj Mahal, Music Fuh Ya' (Musica Para Tu) 1977: Taj Mahal, Brothers 1981: Herbie Hancock, Magic Windows 1998: Ginger Baker, Do What You Like 2009: Jimi Hendrix, Valleys of Neptune
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