Alice Cooper Pays Tribute to Former Drummer Whitey Glan
Alice Cooper has shared his personal tribute to drummer Whitey Glan, who died earlier this week after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
Cooper posted his farewell to Glan on Facebook, sharing a photo of the two together along with a message looking back on the time they spent together in the studio and on the road. "Rest in Peace, Whitey! I picked Whitey Glan as the drummer for my Welcome to My Nightmare Tour because he was simply the best drummer around, not knowing he could drink me under a table," wrote Cooper. "He was just a great guy, everybody who’s worked with him considered him one of their best friends. He was one of rock's premier drummers, but in my opinion he was very under rated and under publicized -- he was certainly a drummer's drummer! Canada is less one world class musician."
One of several members of Lou Reed's band who migrated into the Cooper fold after Cooper's original lineup disintegrated, Glan played on the classic Welcome to My Nightmare LP and spent the '70s as a regular member of Cooper's live band, later moving on to a varied career that included performing stints with a number of artists.
According to the Toronto Moon, Glan remained active until shortly before his death; prior to falling ill, he'd been drumming for a regional jazz combo and sitting in with his band Whitey & the Roulettes during their weekly residence at a local tavern.