Veteran drummer Terry Cox, who collaborated with David Bowie, Elton John, the Bee Gees and others, has died. He’d just turned 89. His bandmates in the British folk-rock group Pentangle confirmed his death, describing Cox as a “drummer of rare instinct and imagination.”
He worked with Pentangle off-and-on from their initial run between 1967-73 through various reunions that began in the early-’80s. By then, Cox had served as drummer on a couple of rock’s signature songs.
Born on March 13, 1937 in Buckinghamshire, England, Cox reportedly died in Spain. No immediate cause of death was provided.
Watch David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ Video
Terry Cox’s Contributions to Rock History
During Pentangle’s turn-of-the-’70s heyday, they scored a No. 5 U.K. hit with Basket of Light. That was the same year Cox played on the hit-single version of Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” which also featured Pentangle bassist Herbie Flowers and keyboardist Rick Wakeman, later of Yes fame.
“Space Oddity” was originally featured on 1969’s David Bowie, but didn’t reach its chart peak until a few years later. The re-release went to No. 1 in the U.K. and No. 15 in America.
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Cox also appeared on a pair albums with Elton John, beginning with his gold-selling Top 5 self-titled 1970 album. After playing on “The Greatest Discovery” and “The King Must Die,” Cox drummed on three songs from 1971’s triple-platinum Top 10 hit Madman Across the Water, including the epic title track. (Wakeman was part of these sessions, too.)
Along the way, Cox also earned credits on 1970’s Cucumber Castle, where he replaced long-time Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen, Rick Springfield‘s pre-fame 1974 LP Comic Book Heroes and series of albums by Alexis Korner, whose various bands also included Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts and Ginger Baker. Cox also wrote songs with Lenny Zakatek, who sang the Alan Parsons Project‘s Top 40 hit “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You,” “Damned If I Do” and “Games People Play.”
Listen to Elton John’s ‘Madman Across the Water’
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