Biography
Though Don Grady's name tends to evoke his extensive work in front of the camera, including his late-1950s stint as a Disney Mouseketeer and his twelve-year portrayal of Robbie Douglas opposite Fred MacMurray on the sitcom My Three Sons throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, relatively few recognize the parallel musical path he pursued both during and after those years on television.
Born Don Agrati, the performer commanded an array of instruments—drums, bass, piano, trumpet, and guitar. He spent time in the folk-rock outfit Palace Guard before teaming with songwriter and producer Gary Zekley to launch the band Yellow Balloon. In 1967, with Grady behind the drums, the group scored its sole hit single, titled after the ensemble itself. After releasing that single, one album, and making an appearance on American Bandstand with Dick Clark, Yellow Balloon dissolved. Grady then embarked on a solo career under his birth name, a marked departure from his earlier role as the band's "mystery drummer," when he hid his identity behind dark glasses and a wig.
Over the following decades he accumulated further credits as composer, arranger, and conductor. He wrote "Keep the Dream Alive" for Jazz to End Hunger, a project that enlisted Herbie Hancock, Della Reese, Dianne Schuur, Bobby McFerrin, and additional prominent artists. He supplied original music for the Discovery Channel documentary The Revolutionary War, contributed keyboards along with arranging and composing duties to saxophonist Sam Riney's Top Ten crossover jazz albums, and created the theme for The Phil Donahue Show as well as the opening song for the 1996 Democratic National Convention. His work also appeared in productions from HBO/Warner Bros., A&E Television Network, Universal Studios, and George Lucas Productions. Don Grady succumbed to cancer in June 2012 at the age of 68.
Born Don Agrati, the performer commanded an array of instruments—drums, bass, piano, trumpet, and guitar. He spent time in the folk-rock outfit Palace Guard before teaming with songwriter and producer Gary Zekley to launch the band Yellow Balloon. In 1967, with Grady behind the drums, the group scored its sole hit single, titled after the ensemble itself. After releasing that single, one album, and making an appearance on American Bandstand with Dick Clark, Yellow Balloon dissolved. Grady then embarked on a solo career under his birth name, a marked departure from his earlier role as the band's "mystery drummer," when he hid his identity behind dark glasses and a wig.
Over the following decades he accumulated further credits as composer, arranger, and conductor. He wrote "Keep the Dream Alive" for Jazz to End Hunger, a project that enlisted Herbie Hancock, Della Reese, Dianne Schuur, Bobby McFerrin, and additional prominent artists. He supplied original music for the Discovery Channel documentary The Revolutionary War, contributed keyboards along with arranging and composing duties to saxophonist Sam Riney's Top Ten crossover jazz albums, and created the theme for The Phil Donahue Show as well as the opening song for the 1996 Democratic National Convention. His work also appeared in productions from HBO/Warner Bros., A&E Television Network, Universal Studios, and George Lucas Productions. Don Grady succumbed to cancer in June 2012 at the age of 68.
Singles
