Eddie Hoh obit

Session Drummer ‘Fast Eddie’ Hoh Dies at 71

He was not on the list.

Edward "Fast Eddie" Hoh, a session drummer who appeared on a number of classic albums in the late '60s before suddenly turning away from the music business, has passed away at the age of 71.

Hoh's passing is confirmed by the Knollcrest Funeral Home in Lombard, Ill., whose obituary states that he died Nov. 7 of undisclosed causes at a nursing home in Westmont, Ill. More information comes courtesy of a Facebook page dedicated to Hoh's legacy, where a Nov. 8 post attributes his death to "natural causes" and adds a moving personal tribute that sheds a little light on the last days of a musician whose contributions rarely received the attention they deserved.

"I will miss my friend, terribly," reads a portion of the post. "Eddie was a very kind and humorous man. We had so many great conversations, and he had so many awesome memories to share about his days playing. I am so honored to have met him and to be allowed by him to create this page for him. And though he no longer played the drums, which was partly due to his hearing loss, he could still pound out some good beats on the table!"

As Vintage Vinyl News notes, Hoh came up in the early '60s, playing with a series of bands before joining the Modern Folk Quartet in 1965. Along the way, he built a reputation as a solid session player, which led to work for a fast-growing list of acts (including Donovan, who gave Hoh his first major credit on his Sunshine Superman LP).

Between 1967-70, Hoh landed an impressive number of gigs, including touring with the Mamas and the Papas and becoming a member of the Monkees' regular session stable as the backup drummer for the legendary Hal Blaine. Other notable Hoh credits include the Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper/Stephen Stills classic Super Session LP and work for Poco and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Just as quickly as he rose to prominence in the rock community, Hoh seems to have all but vanished in the early '70s, and his decades of silence sparked a number of bizarre rumors about his fate — but according to the Hoh tribute Facebook page, he spent his final months actively communicating with fans, and was touched by the unexpected rush of overdue attention for his work.