John Frederick Robinson (born December 29, 1954), known professionally as JR, is an American drummer and session musician who has been called "one of the most recorded drummers in history". He is known for his work with producer Quincy Jones, including Michael Jackson's multi-platinum Off the Wall album and the charity single "We Are the World". JR's drum fill kicks off Jackson's chart topper "Rock with You", and his drum solo opens the Steve Winwood album Back in the High Life (1986) to begin the number 1 song "Higher Love".

Rolling Stone listed JR in 2016 at number 81 in their list of the top 100 "Greatest Drummers of All Time". He was awarded one Grammy Award for the Rufus and Chaka Khan single "Ain't Nobody", but has played drums on more than fifty Grammy winning works.

JR plays in many different styles. His first fame came with the funk band Rufus, and he recorded dance/funk hits with the Pointer Sisters. In the pop and rock fields, his work stretches from the straight-up rock of John Fogerty, Bonnie Raitt and Peter Frampton to the mainstream pop of Lady Gaga, Daft Punk, Wilson Phillips and Madonna. JR has backed many contemporary R&B singers including Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie and Anita Baker, as well as vocal pop/soft rock singers such as Barbra Streisand, Seal, Peter Cetera and Rod Stewart. He played on a string of pure country hits by George Strait, Clint Black and Toby Keith. In the 1990s, his film score assignments shifted into high gear, drumming for Hans Zimmer, Christophe Beck and James Newton Howard. And throughout JR's career he has collaborated with jazz artists ranging from Jeff Lorber to David Benoit to Sadao Watanabe. JR said he is "a chameleon kind of drummer".

Early life JR was born on December 29, 1954, in Creston, Iowa. His parents, Helen Sloan and Jack Robinson, made certain he had an education in music, starting him in piano lessons at age five. JR's father played violin as a hobby, and his mother played him big band records, pointing out the elements of swing. Robinson senior was also the arranger for the local choir Creston Chorus. Both his grandfathers were musical. His favorite record at age seven was "When the Saints Go Marching In" from the soundtrack of the 1959 film The Five Pennies. At eight he got his first drum kit – a secondhand 1940s Ludwig set with no toms, just snare, bass, hi-hat and one Zildjian cymbal. At age ten he formed a duo with Kevin Clemens who played electric guitar. His next drum kit was a new 1966 Ludwig Champagne Sparkle set. Tall and athletic, JR wavered between a basketball or music career, choosing music. At 14, he performed with the Iowa Big Band, and he played drums in high school band, using a maple Ludwig drum kit in White Marine Pearl. JR went to jazz band camp at Northwest Missouri State University and Illinois State University where he met drummer/teacher Ed Soph who helped JR break some of his bad habits, training him in traditional grip. Soph encouraged him to enroll at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

JR gigged with the Tommy Dorsey Band in 1973, finding that the old, yellowed charts were very extensive, more than 1200 songs. In August 1973, the Pointer Sisters opened for Chicago at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Des Moines. JR attended the concert, and he was moved by the Pointer Sisters' songs "Cloudburst" and "Yes We Can Can". He said he "always wanted to play with them". Seven years later he played on the Pointer Sisters' hit song "Slow Hand".

Arriving at Berklee in 1973, JR was taught by drum educator and theorist Gary Chaffee who advocated linear drumming, and jazz drummer Alan Dawson. JR's schoolmates included bass guitarist Neil Stubenhaus and drummers Steve Smith, Kenwood Dennard, Vinnie Colaiuta and Casey Scheuerell. Dawson helped change JR's bass drum footing to a heel-down style, which took years to master. JR studied xylophone and vibraphone with Dave Samuels, and they gigged together. By 1974, JR was working as a studio musician for Professor John LaPorta who needed a precise drummer for his teaching tapes.

Career Rufus, Quincy, Michael Jackson

After five semesters of Berklee classes, JR left school but stayed in Boston to focus on gigging. He toured in a band called Shelter, and in March 1978 at the Rare Cherry nightclub outside of Cleveland, his band was surprised to find they were opening for Rufus and Chaka Khan. After the Shelter set, Rufus and Chaka Khan came on stage to ask JR to stay and play with them. This invitation extended through the whole evening. Two weeks later, JR moved to Los Angeles to fill their touring drummer position. The first gig was in Hawaii, where JR met Danny Seraphine, founding drummer of Chicago, who encouraged JR to sign an endorsement contract with drum manufacturer Slingerland. JR recorded with Rufus in 1978 on the album Numbers released in early 1979, which rose to number 81 on the Billboard 200. Producer Quincy Jones led the next album project Masterjam for Rufus. Masterjam was recorded in late 1978 and released in November 1979. The single "Do You Love What You Feel", featuring Chaka Khan on vocals, crossed over to number 30 on the Hot 100. Jones was the person who first started calling John Robinson by the nickname JR. Before Masterjam came out, Jones brought JR to Michael Jackson's album project Off the Wall in December 1978. The first thing JR did on the project was go to Allen Zentz Recording Studios to overdub drums for the songs "Girlfriend" and "It's the Falling in Love", replacing the previous drummer's work. Jones listened to the results, conferred with Jackson, and then invited JR to be the drummer for the rest of the album. JR remembers going to Westlake Recording Studios to cut basic tracks for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" with just keys, bass and drums. The trio was Louis Johnson on bass, JR, and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes: this was the first time JR had met Phillinganes. After they recorded the track, Phillinganes stood on the piano bench with his hands up, exultant. Everyone knew they had just laid the foundation for a hit. Released in August 1979, Off the Wall netted JR three hit singles: "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (number 1), "Rock with You" (number 1), and "Off the Wall" (number 10). From this point forward, JR was a first-request drummer for Jones.

JR was on the road with Rufus and Chaka Khan for ten months in 1980 – his longest tour. During a brief stop, he spent one day recording George Benson's Give Me the Night. He helped on a few of Karen Carpenter's solo album tracks, which were not released until 16 years later. In 1981, JR recorded Party 'Til You're Broke with Rufus, yielding the hit single "Tonight We Love". Later that year, the Rufus album Camouflage brought JR another hit single, "Sharing the Love", which reached number 8 on the R&B chart. Rufus released Seal in Red in 1983, and JR also played on the Rufus/Chaka Khan single "Ain't Nobody" which topped the R&B chart and rose to number 22 on the Hot 100. "Ain't Nobody" earned a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards in early '84, which is JR's only Grammy. JR said that he recorded his part for "Ain't Nobody" at Amigo Studios in Hollywood, replacing a drum machine demo track with his own ideas, but keeping a robotic feel. He first played kick and snare alone, then overdubbed the hi-hat, then another pass for toms. This was a common practice in the 1980s to keep the drum parts isolated.

Other projects during this time included some dates with the Temptations and the Four Tops, the Brothers Johnson album Light Up the Night (1980), Quincy Jones' album The Dude (1981), Louis Johnson's gospel album Passage for A&M, and six songs with JR as drummer on the Patti Austin album Every Home Should Have One which produced the hugely successful hit duet with James Ingram, "Baby, Come to Me". Bassist Stanley Clarke used JR for one song, "We Supply", on Rocks, Pebbles and Sand (1980). JR covered drum duties for two songs on the Herbie Hancock album Magic Windows (1981), and also for his next album Lite Me Up. The Pointer Sisters' 1981 album Black & White birthed the hit single "Slow Hand". Jazz keyboardist Jeff Lorber put JR on the drum throne for his It's a Fact album in 1982, and Lionel Richie used JR's drumming skills for three songs on Lionel Richie (1982) including the big hit "You Are". Jones brought JR to Donna Summer's self-titled album to cut the song "State of Independence".

When the Pointer Sisters were ready for their next album, producer Richard Perry called JR in early 1982 to bring his drums to Perry's own Studio 55 on Melrose Avenue. Once again, JR joined bassist Nathan Watts to form the rhythm section, supporting John Barnes on keys, and a changing lineup of guitarists. Paulinho da Costa added percussion. JR recalled that the music was surprisingly funky for the song "I'm So Excited" which turned out to be a Top 40 hit in 1982, and then a Top 10 hit in 1984 as a remix. Lionel Richie used several drummers including JR on his album Can't Slow Down (1983). In 1982 at Ocean Way Studio A, JR formed a trio with Richie playing Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer and Abraham Laboriel on electric bass. The three of them laid down the basic tracks for "All Night Long (All Night)" to create "the space and grace that the song needed", according to JR. Percussion parts were layered into the mix afterward. The song topped three Billboard charts: pop, R&B and adult contemporary. Glenn Frey pulled JR on the road with him in September–November 1982, starting in Japan and returning to the US; all in support of his solo album No Fun Aloud.

The theme for the 1984 Summer Olympics was "Olympia" by Sérgio Mendes who used JR for acoustic drums and Terry Bozzio for electronic drum programming. Diana Ross called upon JR to record her song "Missing You" (1984). Producer Ted Templeman used JR for the first David Lee Roth solo project Crazy from the Heat (1984). Two hits came from that: a cover of the Beach Boys' "California Girls", and a medley of pop classics "Just a Gigolo" and "I Ain't Got Nobody". Richard Perry used JR for his three songs on Laura Branigan's album Self Control (1984). Phillinganes tapped JR for a couple of songs on his solo album Pulse (1984). DeBarge included some of JR's drums on the album Rhythm of the Night (1985). Eric Clapton put JR on one song from his album Behind the Sun (1985). Benson used JR on a couple of songs from his 1985 album 20/20, including a cover of "Beyond the Sea (La Mer)" which charted in the UK. Whitney Houston cut some tracks with JR in 1984 for her eponymous album, giving JR more number 1 hits: "Saving All My Love for You" in 1985 and "Greatest Love of All" in 1986. Houston's next album used JR on the number 1 hit "Didn't We Almost Have It All" (1987).

Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones headed the project USA for Africa to provide relief for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. To cut the rhythm tracks for the charity single "We Are the World", Jones booked Lion Share Studios in Los Angeles, the old ABC/Dunhill studio where Rufus first recorded, and Jones called JR to cover drums. JR joined bassist Johnson and keyboardist Phillinganes to learn the song from Richie and Jackson with everyone gathered around the piano. JR recalls that when it was time to push the record button, the various industry executives and media people were making too much noise, ruining the vibe, and Jones asked JR to clear them out. JR shouted, "Everyone, get the fuck out, let us record first and then you all can come back in!" Which is exactly what happened. The basic rhythm tracks went down very well, followed the next week by a different recording session for all the celebrity voices. "We Are the World" became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Rock and vocal pop