Bobby Gregg’s 1962 hit, “The Jam” gave no hint of his future eminence as the drummer on sessions by Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and Peter, Paul & Mary – and as a member of The Band (when they were still The Hawks). This something of a missing link between the rock ‘n roll and rock eras was born and raised in Philadelphia, where he started out as the white drummer with the otherwise-African American Philadelphia band, Steve Gibson and the Red Caps. Bobby Gregg and Friends’ 1962 release of "The Jam - Part 1" hit No 29 on the pop chart and No. 14 on the R&B chart. In the early 60s he was also a producer for recordings by Erma Franklin (older sister of Aretha Franklin), Sun Ra, and Richard "Popcorn" Wylie.
Bobby Gregg moved into the rock era as producer Tom Wilson’s choice to do the drums on the electric-instrument versions of Bob Dylan’s "House of the Rising Sun" followed by his drumming on the electric side of the album Bringing It All Back Home, where he appeared on “Love Minus Zero,” “She Belongs to Me,” "Subterranean Homesick Blues", and "Maggie's Farm," among others. He also performed on the Highway 61 Revisited and Blond on Blond albums. He replaced Levon Helm on The Hawks as Dylan’s backing band for a month and then was brought in by Tom Wilson for an electronic version of Simon & Garfunkel’s "The Sound of Silence" that hit No. 1 as a single and was used in the Sounds of Silence album. His work for Peter, Paul and Mary was on the 1967 Peter, Paul and Mary Album.
