Charley Drayton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Charley Drayton
Drayton performing with Cold Chisel in 2012
Background information
Also known as	Seedy
Genres	Rock pop indie soul
Occupation(s)	Session musician, producer, arranger
Instruments	Drums bass guitar guitar keyboards percussion vocals
Years active	1973-present

Charley Drayton is a talented American musician and producer. He is mostly known for playing the drums. He has worked with many famous artists. Some of these include The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, and Mariah Carey.

Charley Drayton was also a member of the Australian rock band Divinyls. He played with them from 1991 to 2008. He married the band's lead singer, Chrissy Amphlett, in 1999. Chrissy sadly passed away in 2013 after battling breast cancer.

Early Life and Musical Family

Charley Drayton was a very gifted child. He started recording as a drummer when he was only eight years old. By the age of fourteen, he was already touring professionally.

Music ran in his family. His grandfather, Charles H. "Charlie" Drayton, was a talented bassist. He played with many jazz legends like Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. Charley's father, Bernard ("Bernie") Drayton, was also important in music. He was a studio audio engineer and producer. He even worked on John Coltrane's last recording.

Highlights of Charley Drayton's Career

Playing with The Rolling Stones and Keith Richards

In 1985, Charley Drayton helped out on the Rolling Stones' album Dirty Work. This led to Keith Richards asking him to join his new band, X-pensive Winos, in 1987. Charley played bass guitar for this band. He toured and recorded with them until 1992. He played on their albums Talk Is Cheap and Main Offender. Keith Richards has said that Charley is one of his favorite drummers ever.

Working with The B-52's and Neil Young

Charley Drayton played drums on four songs for The B-52's 1989 album Cosmic Thing. These songs included the popular hits "Channel Z" and "Love Shack". He also played bass guitar with Neil Young on Saturday Night Live in 1989. They performed the song "Rockin' in the Free World."

Time with Divinyls

Drayton and Chrissy Amphlett with Divinyls in 2007.

Charley played drums on two albums for the Australian band Divinyls. These were their 1991 album Divinyls and their 1996 album Underworld. He also produced the Underworld album. In 1999, he married the band's lead singer, Chrissy Amphlett. They lived together in New York City.

In 2007, Divinyls got back together. Charley played drums for their tours and new recordings. He also produced their new album. Chrissy Amphlett passed away in 2013. Charley later spoke out against plans to reform Divinyls with a new singer. He felt it was disrespectful to Chrissy.

Collaborations with Paul Simon and Cold Chisel

Charley Drayton recorded and toured with Paul Simon in 2008 and 2009. He also toured with Simon & Garfunkel in 2010. Paul Simon has praised Charley, calling him "the heart of the band." He said Charley is a "great musician and a fine, fine drummer."

Since 2011, Charley has been recording and touring with the Australian rock band Cold Chisel. He joined them after their original drummer passed away.

Other Notable Projects

In 2012, Charley co-produced and played many instruments on Fiona Apple's album The Idler Wheel.... He also played drums on albums for French artist Johnny Hallyday in 2014 and 2015. In 2017, he toured worldwide with Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul. More recently, from late 2021 to late 2022, Charley was part of Bob Dylan's backup band. He played in over 100 concerts during Dylan's world tour.

Personal Life

Charley Drayton has a child with Adria Petty. Adria is the daughter of famous musician Tom Petty.

Selected Collaborations

Charley Drayton has worked on many albums with different artists. Here are some of them:

• With Keith Richards
  • Talk Is Cheap (1988)
  • Main Offender (1992)
• With Divinyls
  • Divinyls (1991)
  • Underworld (1996)
• With Andrés Calamaro
  • Alta Suciedad (1997)
  • Honestidad Brutal (1999)
• With Fiona Apple
  • The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (2012)