Rocky Dzidzornu

Kwasi "Rocky" Dzidzornu (1935 – March 13, 1993),[1] also known as Rocky Dijon, was a Ghanaian-born English percussionist known for his playing contributions to recordings by The Rolling Stones, Nick Drake, Ginger Baker, Stevie Wonder, Billy Preston and Joe Walsh.[2] During the 1970s he recorded extensively with Taj Mahal. Bill Wyman also enlisted him on his 1976 solo album Stone Alone.

Rocky Dzidzornu
Also known as"Rocky"
Rocky Dzidzornu
Rocki Dzidzornu
Rocky DziDzornu
Rocky Dijon
Rocky Dejon
Kwasi Dzidzornu
GenresR&B
Rock
Blues
Funk
World
Occupation(s)Percussionist
InstrumentsCongas, percussion
LabelsVarious
Associated actsThe Rolling Stones
Taj Mahal
Bill Wyman
Nick Drake
Ginger Baker
Billy Preston
Minnie Riperton
Stevie Wonder
Hugh Masekela
Joe Walsh
Jimi Hendrix

War's drummer Harold Brown has named him as an important influence, and also credits him with teaching Ginger Baker.[3]

Rocky was born in Ghana, Africa, and escaped poverty there by stowing away on a boat for weeks with hardly any food and water to make his way to England. He had a son Gary and a daughter Evonne with an English woman in London in the 1960s. Producer Jimmy Miller brought him in to work with the Rolling Stones.[4]

Critic Ned Sublette has written that the addition of his conga drumming on "Sympathy for the Devil" transformed the song from "a dirge, and a dull one at that . . . making it come alive".[5][6] He continued playing with them through 1968, on tracks like "Stray Cat Blues", "Factory Girl" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and also participated in the same era on the Rock and Roll Circus event. In 1970 they used him again on "Can't You Hear Me Knocking".

Partial discography
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References
  1. "50 YEARS OF ROLLING STONES - ROCKY DIJON MADE THE DIFFERENCE"
  2. "Ladies & lords take a bow for Master Drummer & Percussionist from Ghana Kwasi ‘Rocky Dijon’ Dzidzornu" Blakk Pepper. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  3. Jim Payne and Harry Weinger, The Great Drummers of R&B Funk & Soul (Mel Bay Publications, 2007), ISBN 978-0-7866-7303-2, pp. 148ff. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  4. "Ranking the Rolling Stones: Moments that matter from the Navy Pier show" Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  5. Ned Sublette, "The Kingsmen and the Cha-Cha-Chá", in Eric Weisbard, ed., Listen Again: A Momentary History of Pop Music (Duke University Press, 2007), ISBN 978-0-8223-4041-6, p. 90. Excerpt available at Google Books.
  6. See also Stephen Davis, Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones (Random House Digital, Inc., 2001), ISBN 978-0-7679-0312-7. Excerpts available at Google Books.


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