Hamilton Frederick Bohannon, an under-sung but highly influential percussionist whose '70s solo work set the stage for disco, died on Friday (April 24) at age 78, according to The Newnan Times-Herald.
The cause of death was not revealed.Gifted on the drums at a young age, the Newnan, GA-born talent attended the historically black university Clark Atlanta University on a music scholarship.
After graduation, he gigged around Atlanta and crossed paths with a pre-fame Jimi Hendrix and a young Stevie Wonder, the latter of whom took him on tour, eventually inviting him to move up to Detroit to work with him at Motown.
Bohannon would go on to take up the role of band leader at Motown Records for some years, playing with everyone from Diana Ross to.
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