Andrea
Pentti Glan or ‘Pentti Whitey’ Glan is best known for being a session drummer, playing on Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare and Lou Reed’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal. Glan was a member of the Canadian rock band Moxy and worked with The Guess Who, Ian Hunter, Kiss, Peter Criss, Bob Dylan, and Ronnie Hawkins.
Pentti Glan Early Journey
Pentti Glan was born in Helsinki, Finland, in 1947. He started playing drums at the age of 12 and soon became one of Toronto’s most sought-after session drummers. In the early 1970s, he moved to Los Angeles and began working with some of the biggest names in rock music.
Glan’s first serious band was the Canadian soul band The Rogues (later called Mandala). He formed with keyboardist Josef Chirowski and bassist Don Elliot; they had worked together in other bands like Whitey & The Roulettes. In 1966 Glan played several shows with Mandala in Ontario and recorded the first two demo songs called “I Can’t Hold Out No Longer” and “I’ll Make It Up To You”.
He was a master drummer who helped define the sound of rock and roll. Pentti will be greatly missed by fans and musicians all over the world. His drumming style was based on jazz and swing, with a powerful backbeat. He said that he was influenced by such greats as Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, and Max Roach. In an interview, Glan stated that “I try to play with the feeling of the music, not just keeping a beat.” He was also known for his fast double-kick work on songs like “Beth” by Kiss.
Glan tragically passed away in 1998 from pancreatic cancer, but his influence as a drummer continues to be felt today. He was a true pioneer in the world of rock drumming and will always be remembered as one of the greats. Throughout his career, Pentti Whitey Glan is a dynamic and passionate drummer who never met an instrument he didn’t want to learn how to play. He’s been awarded by the President of Finland for his contribution to music education. Pentti Glan will be missed by all who know him, and his legacy will live on through the music he created. He also played the drummer in The Rose, the 1979 Bette Midler movie that was loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin
Pentti Glan Drumming Journey
Pentti Glan formed another group called Bush in 1971 with Mandala bandmates Domenic Troiano, Roy Kenner, and Prakash John. They released a self-titled album which was later voted as one of the best Finnish rock albums ever made by Rolling Stone Magazine. After that, they toured Steppenwolf before disbanding afterward.
In 1974, Glan began touring with Lou Reed, playing on two live albums and one studio album. In 1975 Glan joined Alice Cooper for the recording of his first solo album Welcome To My Nightmare and subsequent tour, and later appeared on the live album The Alice Cooper Show. Although he didn’t work with Cooper in the studio again, he was often part of his touring band in the ’70s and was featured on The Alice Cooper Show, a live album from 1977.
