Biography
Born in 1943 in New York City to an entertainment executive who later became a radio disc jockey and to an actress, Joel O'Brien took up piano lessons while still very young. Though he briefly explored acting and spent time as an apprentice film editor, his post-high-school path led him instead to the Manhattan School of Music. He later acknowledged that a heroin addiction had already taken hold by then and would shadow much of his early professional life. Drawn first to jazz and also intrigued by folk and country, O’Brien joined the local R&B outfit the Kingbees, whose lineup featured guitarist Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar. After that group dissolved, O’Brien, Kortchmar, and singer-guitarist James Taylor formed the Flying Machine; despite promising beginnings in Greenwich Village, the band’s one-year existence never translated into lasting success, partly because both O’Brien and Taylor were battling heroin addiction.
He and Kortchmar next appeared together in Jo Mama, while O’Brien also spent time in the Glitterhouse alongside Moogy Klingman. He subsequently contributed drums to Carole King’s first three albums alongside Kortchmar and fellow Jo Mama alumni, and he played on the well-received debut Sister Kate by James Taylor’s sister Kate Taylor. Although he participated in the Los Angeles scene of the early 1970s, O’Brien eventually relocated to Woodstock, New York, where he performed with Robbie Dupree in several ensembles and began pursuing photography. A period living in Tuscany followed, during which he returned to the piano. In later years he continued to make music privately yet presented himself publicly chiefly as a visual artist. O’Brien died of liver cancer in 2004.
He and Kortchmar next appeared together in Jo Mama, while O’Brien also spent time in the Glitterhouse alongside Moogy Klingman. He subsequently contributed drums to Carole King’s first three albums alongside Kortchmar and fellow Jo Mama alumni, and he played on the well-received debut Sister Kate by James Taylor’s sister Kate Taylor. Although he participated in the Los Angeles scene of the early 1970s, O’Brien eventually relocated to Woodstock, New York, where he performed with Robbie Dupree in several ensembles and began pursuing photography. A period living in Tuscany followed, during which he returned to the piano. In later years he continued to make music privately yet presented himself publicly chiefly as a visual artist. O’Brien died of liver cancer in 2004.
Albums