ABBA

Drummer and singer-songwriter from New Orleans, Louisiana, who grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and honed his skills in rock bands until joining The Goose Creek Symphony, along with Ed Black and Doug Haywood.

Chris Darrow encouraged him and Ed to move to Los Angeles, where he was working on a solo project. They were then invited to join a newly re-tooled version of The Linda Ronstadt band, and appeared her 1973 LP, Don’t Cry Now. Other notables for who he worked around this time included Jackson Browne and J.D. Souther.

In 1975, he was a member of two groups, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Juice Newton’s backing band, Silver Spur. He toured with the latter until 1976 and co-wrote “Blue”, which made the cut on their sophomore effort, After the Dust Settles. (Juice later included “I’ll Never Love Again” on her solo debut, Well Kept Secret.)

In 1977, he co-formed Sierra with Bob Cochran, Gib Guilbeau, Joel Scott Hill, Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Thad Maxwell. This resulted in one self-titled album. He and Richard Bowden then co-founded Blue Steel, and they were together from 1978 to 1982. All the while, Mickey enjoyed membership in FBB and appeared on the albums: Flying Again, Hearts on the Line, and Live from Tokyo.

The CD era affords us opportunities to hear his drum stylings on live albums and re-packagings such as Close Encounters to the West Coast, Hollywood Nights 1979-82, and The Very Best of Jackson Browne. Recent years have found him drumming and singing vocals with Mike Breen and the Back at the Ranch Band.

The Burrito Brothers recordings

She’s a Friend of a Friend (John Beland/Gib Guilbeau)

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