Bobby Caldwell

Bobby Caldwell (born 1951) is an American drummer, songwriter, producer, and music arranger who was a founding member of rock bands Captain Beyond (with Rod Evans) and Armageddon (with Keith Relf) in the 1970s. He also recorded with Johnny Winter and the Allman Brothers Band.

Bobby Caldwell was born Robert E. Caldwell in 1951 in Florida. He began playing drums at the age of ten and by the age of fourteen, he was playing professionally with many local rock bands in Florida. One of the bands was a Tampa garage band named "Noah's Ark" with Bill Mann (guitar), Buddy Richardson (lead guitar), Rodney Justo (vocals), and Ronny Elliott (bass). In 1967, the band released "Paper Man"/"Please Don't Talk About Yesterday" and "Love In"/"I Get All The Luck" on Decca Records. In 1970, they recorded "Purple Heart" and "Stormy" on Liberty Records.

When he was 19, Bobby was recruited by Johnny Winter for his new supergroup "Johnny Winter And" with bassist Randy Jo Hobbs and guitarist Rick Derringer. In 1971, he recorded Winter's best-performing album Johnny Winter And Live in Miami and New York. In 1974, he played drums on Winter's Saints & Sinners (Columbia Records) with Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, and Dan Hartman.

In 1973, Bobby also played drums on Rick Derringer's first solo LP All American Boy, recorded at Caribou Ranch in Colorado. The first track on the album is the famous "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo", which was his only Top 40 chart hit as a solo artist in the U.S.

In the early 1970s, Bobby toured with the Allman Brothers Band as a third drummer and percussionist. He played percussion on "Drunken Hearted Boy" and "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" on The Allman Brothers' album The Fillmore Concerts.

In 1972, Bobby was a member of the Los Angeles-based rock supergroup Captain Beyond with former Deep Purple singer Rod Evans, and former Iron Butterfly guitarist and bassist Larry Reinhardt and Lee Dorman, respectively. The band signed with Capricorn Records after Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band introduced them to Capricorn Records co-founder Phil Walden. With an eclectic style merging elements of hard rock, progressive rock, and jazz, the band released three albums between 1972 and 1977—Captain Beyond (Capricorn Records, 1972), Thousand Days Of Yesterday (Capricorn Records, 1972), and Dawn Explosion (Warner Bros. Records, 1977).

After leaving Captain Beyond, Bobby joined Yardbirds' vocalist Keith Relf's British supergroup Armageddon. The band included two former Steamhammer members—guitarist Martin Pugh and bassist Louis Cennamo. Bobby was recruited upon a suggestion by famed British drummer Aynsley Dunbar). The group produced one album, Armageddon, for A&M Records in 1975. With Bobby and Pugh living in Los Angeles and Relf and Cennamo living in London, the band disbanded shortly thereafter. In a 2001 interview, Bobby mentioned that the band's management became increasingly more difficult to communicate with and they were not being promoted properly.

In the early 1980s, Bobby received a solo record deal from MCA Records, however, the album was never completed.

Over the years, Bobby also played with John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Eric Clapton.

In the 1980s and 1990s, he moved back to Florida from Los Angeles and continued to write songs and perform with his own band. In the late 1990s, he rejoined Captain Beyond with a new lineup and made a few demo songs. In 2000, they released a 4-track EP titled 4-Song EP with Jeff Artabasy (bass), Jimmy Interval (vocals), and the original guitarist Larry Reinhardt (guitar).

In 2000, Bobby's composition of "Dansar Galet Bakåt" was recorded by Swedish progressive rock band Qoph on their EP Än Lyser Månen (Record Heaven). In 2002, his composition of "Raging River Of Fear" was recorded by Roine Stolt's Swedish progressive rock band The Flower Kings. His compositions have also been recorded by George Lynch (Furious George, 2014) and Peter Hook (Dancing Madly Backwards, 2017).

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Caldwell resides in Florida. He has one daughter, Ashley Caldwell Kincheloe.