Dennis Bryon was a Welsh drummer best known as a member of the Bee Gees during their massive 1970s disco stardom.
- Died: November 14, 2024 (Who else died on November 14?)
- Details of death: Died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 75.
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Dennis Bryon’s legacy
Bryon was already an accomplished drummer before he joined the Bee Gees. At the age of 17, he co-founded Amen Corner in his hometown of Cardiff, Wales. The band had several U.K. hits, starting with “Gin House Blues” in 1967. In 1968, they neared the top of the charts with a cover of “Bend Me, Shape Me,” made famous in the U.S. the previous year by The American Breed. Amen Corner scored their biggest hit with 1969’s “(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice,” topping the U.K. chart.
After the 1969 breakup of Amen Corner, Bryon and the band’s keyboardist, Blue Weaver, went on to co-found Fair Weather, which had a U.K. hit with “Natural Sinner” during their brief lifespan. Weaver moved on to the Strawbs, though he would later join Bryon in the band where both had their greatest fame, the Bee Gees.
Bryon joined the Bee Gees in 1973 after the departure of drummer Geoff Bridgford. His audition was a smashing success – he later remembered that Maurice Gibb (1949–2003) hugged him and hired him before he had played a beat. But Bryon joined at a time when the Bee Gees were in a slump. Their early U.K. success had begun to wane, and they were just at the beginning of their reinvention from their early pop sound into the kings of disco. The first album on which Bryon played, “Mr. Natural,” was their lowest seller to date, and its singles weren’t big hits in the U.K. or the U.S. But their fortunes were about to change.
Bryon’s second album with the Bee Gees, “Main Course,” leaned into their new disco sound, and it spawned the hits “Jive’ Talkin,” “Nights on Broadway,” and Bryon’s favorite of the band’s songs, “Fanny (Be Tender with My Love).” The next album included the No. 1. hit “You Should Be Dancing,” and in 1977, the Bee Gees solidified their reputation as disco greats with the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. Their smash hits from the movie included “Stayin’ Alive,” “Night Fever,” “More than a Woman,” and “How Deep Is Your Love.” In fact, his drum track for “Night Fever” was reused for “Stayin’ Alive,” looped by the album’s producers.
After playing on a final album with the Bee Gees – which included the hits “Tragedy” and “Too Much Heaven” – Bryon moved on, though he later played on solo LPs by several of the Gibb brothers. He also recorded with such artists as Barbra Streisand and Dionne Warwick. Late in his career, he began touring with the Italian Bee Gees, a group of Italian brothers who performed songs of the Bee Gees. Bryon’s death came just four days before the death of Colin Petersen (1946–2024), the Bee Gees’ original drummer.
Notable quote
“My style of playing is simple: R&B/groove. And my approach to recording is equally simple: get out of the way, and let the song sing.” — from a 2015 essay for Modern Drummer
Tributes to Dennis Bryon
Full obituary: The New York Times
