Keith LeBlanc: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|American drummer (1954–2024)}}

| caption = Keith LeBlanc (performing with [[Little Axe]] concert in Vienna, 2009)

| birth_placebirth_date = [[USA]]{{Birth date|1954|11|10}}

| death_date birth_place = April[[Bristol, 4Connecticut]], 2024U.S.

| occupationdeath_date = drummer,{{Death recorddate producerand given age|2024|4|4|69}}

'''Keith LeBlanc''' (November 10, 1954 – April 4, 2024)<ref>[https://pitchfork.com/news/keith-leblanc-drummer-on-grandmaster-flash-and-sugarhill-gang-songs-dies-at-69/ Keith LeBlanc, Drummer on Grandmaster Flash and Sugarhill Gang Songs, Dies at 69]</ref><ref>[https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/keith-leblanc Keith LeBlanc Interview | NAMM Oral History Library (2021)]</ref> was an American drummer and record producer who was a member of the bands [[Little Axe]] and [[Tackhead]].<ref name="Dougan">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p13471|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: Keith LeBlanc|last=Dougan|first=John|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=1 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.skysaw.org/onu/artists/keithleblanc.html|title=On-U Sound In The Area - Keith LeBlanc biography|website=Skysaw.org|access-date=January 23, 2020}}</ref>

His record "[[No Sell Out]]" was one of the first sample-based releases.<ref name="LarkinDM">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1998|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0252-6|page=195}}</ref> The song was a success, charting at No. 60 on the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref>{{cite web | title=Malcolm X - Singles | publisher=officialcharts.com | url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/malcolm%20x/ | access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> and becoming the single of the week for several major music publications.<ref name="newsociety84">{{cite journal |first=Jon |last=Savage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q6opAQAAIAAJ |title=Radical Chic |journal=[[New Society]] |publisher=New Society Limited |date=20 February 1984 |volume=67-68 |page=186 |access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> His career started out on [[Sugar Hill Records (hip hop label)|Sugar Hill Records]] recording with hip hop pioneers [[Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five|Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel]], and released several singles on and was a studio musician for [[Tommy Boy Entertainment|Tommy Boy Records]].<ref name="LarkinDM"/> He is also featured on several tracks on the album ''[[Pretty Hate Machine]]'' by [[Nine Inch Nails]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/pretty-hate-machine-mw0000207551/credits|title=Pretty Hate Machine - Nine Inch Nails &#124; Credits |website=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=23 June 2021}}</ref> He now hashad his own record label on which he still releasesreleased music, samples records, and experiments.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blanc Records |url=https://myspace.com/blancrecords |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=[[Myspace]]}}</ref>

LeBlanc grewwas upborn in Bristol, Connecticut,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keith LeBlanc |url=https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Keith_LeBlanc/16892 |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=www.metal-archives.com}}</ref> in 1954<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rimbaud |first=Robin |author-link=Robin Rimbaud |date=April 5, 2024 |title=Sad to read of the passing of drummer Keith LeBlanc (1954-2024). His superglue percussive skills locked together so much music I've loved over the years. 'No Sell Out" (1983) remains an utter sonic gem and redefined dance music at the time. |url=https://www.threads.net/@robinrimbaud/post/C5X3Y8krTZd |access-date=April 5, 2024 |website= |via=[[Threads (social network)|Threads]]}}</ref> and grew up there. He got his start playing drums after seeing [[Ringo Starr]] from [[the Beatles]] on TV. After showing an early interest and focus, his parents bought him a practice pad, and he joined the orchestra in school. A drummer in school encouraged his early interest, inspiring him to cobble together a makeshift kit which he used to playplayed along to records on his father's HiFi system. He performed his first show at 14 after being snuck into the club by his older bandmates.<ref name="truth">{{Citation |title="TRUTH IN RHYTHM" - Keith LeBlanc (Sugar Hill, Tackhead), Part 1 of 3 | date=February 7, 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwW7UUrPSiA |language=en |access-date=2022-05-05}}</ref>

LeBlanc's friend Harold Sargent, the drummer for the house band at [[Sugar Hill Records (hip hop label)|Sugar Hill Records]], was retiring and needed to find his replacement. He brought in LeBlanc to audition for [[Doug Wimbish|Doug Wimbish]] and [[Little Axe|Skip McDonald]], who agreed to take him on after hitting it off with LeBlanc. After replacing Sargent, LeBlanc worked as the session drummer for Sugar Hill Records for four years.<ref>{{Citation |titlename="TRUTH IN RHYTHM" - Keith LeBlanc (Sugar Hill, Tackhead), Part 1 of 3 |url=https:truth//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwW7UUrPSiA |language=en |access-date=2022-05-05}}</ref>

* ''[[Stop the Confusion (Global Interference)]]'' (2005, Collision: Cause of Chapter 3)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/keith-leblanc-mn0000077361/discography|title=Keith LeBlanc &#124; Album Discography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=23 June 2021}}</ref>

{{use dmymdy dates|date=April 20152024}}

[[Category:Year1954 of birth missing (living people)births]]