Ralph MacDonald, the legendary percussionist who played with many of the biggest names, from Bill Withers to the Bee Gees, has died at age 67. The Trinidad and Tobago native was the go to percussionist for dozens of the biggest projects in the 70s and 80s. He was also a noted composer, having written such hits as “Where Is the Love” for Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway and “Just the Two of Us” for Grover Washington.
MacDonald also had a notable jazz solo career. His “Calypso Breakdown” was included in the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. And he later landed a big hit, the duet “In the Name of Love” with Withers. It served almost as a sequel to the Washington/Withers combo, “Just the Two of Us” and put MacDonald’s talents more explicitly in the spotlight, where they deserved to be.
He will be greatly missed.
[Thanks to SoulTracker Sgt. Gary for letting us know about this]
