Sad news: Drummer Michael Lee has died

I've just learned of the unexpected passing of drummer Michael Lee, who collaborated with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant on tour and in the studio for several years.

Michael drummed for Robert Plant beginning with the recording of his 1993 album Fate of Nations. He can be heard on that album's "Memory Song (Hello Hello)" and "Network News."

Robert Plant asked him to go on tour as the drummer for his tour, and he gladly accepted. They spent some time opening for Lenny Kravitz on that tour. Led Zeppelin's singer was closing his sets with "Whole Lotta Love," and Michael Lee was a major part of it all.

A keen sense of timing is one thing a good drummer should have. Michael's was great since Robert Plant's next career move was to reteam with Jimmy Page. Half of Led Zeppelin was playing regularly for the first time in 15 years and, Michael was along for the ride. He drummed for the Unledded sessions and promoted the No Quarter album release with Page and Plant.

As Page and Plant then took their band on tour for the next year, Lee may have been the world's most-watched drummer. They trotted across the globe and packed houses while they put a new twist on Led Zeppelin's music with local orchestras and an assembly of Lebanese, Egyptian and Moroccan musicians. But when they were just a fourpiece playing Led Zeppelin songs, they were very much like Led Zeppelin.



Whoever filmed this rare live rendition of "Achilles Last Stand" played in Atlanta in 1995 liked getting shots of Michael Lee's rat-a-tat-tat.


The one thing Page and Plant hadn't done with their new group that whole time was write some new material. Finally, Michael got the chance to participate in some songwriting sessions in 1997. As a result, he and bassist Charlie Jones are credited alongside Page and Plant as co-writing every song on Walking into Clarksdale. The scaled-down fourpiece band embarked on a tour in 1998 to support this album.

The two times I saw Michael Lee play live were during this tour, on July 7 and 10. Thanks to some videos, I've also been able to enjoyed several other shows with Michael Lee on drums. My favorite memory of his drumming is how he threw himself into the quick drum solo at the end of "Rock and Roll" so much that he once accidentally hit his forehead with a drum stick. Then he was joking about it before the next show to fans, and he jokingly compared the lump on his head to the ones Bugs Bunny would get in the cartoons.

It was just before some 1999 tour dates that Robert Plant slipped away from Page and took Charlie Jones with him. Michael Lee evidently stayed with Jimmy Page, as Lee was there for the very next live appearance with Page, which took place in October 1999 at Net Aid. They unveiled a new instrumental at that show, "Domino," and to this date, it stands as the only original number Page has released since Walking into Clarksdale. Since Michael Lee was there for that too, it's pretty clear how important he was in the ongoing story of Led Zeppelin's former members in the 1990s.

Michael Lee, also known as Michael Gary Pearson, will be missed.