Howard Grimes, veteran drummer and mainstay of the Memphis, Tenn., soul scene, died on Saturday of kidney failure at Saint Francis Hospital in Memphis. He was 80. His death was confirmed to NPR by his bandmate Scott Bomar of The Bo-Keys.
As a drummer for Hi Records’ house band the Hi Rhythm Section in the 1970s, Grimes worked closely with artists including Al Green, Ann Peebles and Otis Clay, among others. His beats on songs including Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” and Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand the Rain” served as a crucial foundation for the burgeoning Memphis soul sound of the era.
Grimes was affectionately nicknamed “The Bulldog” for his notoriously steady beat behind the drum kit, a name he earned from mentor and Hi Records founder Willie Mitchell.
“Willie Mitchell told me, ‘You know, Howard, when you play, I can hear you coming,’ ” Grimes told the Memphis Flyer in 2021, who added that he was alternately dubbed “Pup” and “Dog” in sessions. “I didn’t know what he was talking about. But when I cut a track, he said, ‘I can hear you coming. That foot!’ Willie was very distinct on listening to musicians. That’s how I learned so much.”
Growing up in North Memphis in a household that regularly played the music of jazz artists including Duke Ellington and Cannonball Adderley, Grimes was inspired to become a drummer after seeing a biopic of big band drummer Gene Krupa on television. Before joining the Hi Rhythm Section, Grimes was a regular performer in Memphis clubs and a drummer on several early Stax Records releases in the 1960s.