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Sonny Greer was born William Alexander Greer on December 13, c. 1895 in Long Branch, New Jersey. He played with Elmer Snowden’s band and the Howard Theatre Orchestra in Washington, D.C., before joining Duke Ellington.  Meeting him in 1919, he was Ellington’s first drummer, playing with his quintet, the Washingtonians. He then moved with Ellington into the Cotton Club.

As a result of his job as a designer with the Leedy Drum Company of Indiana, Greer was able to build up a huge drum kit worth over a then-considerable $3,000, including chimes, a gong, timpani, and vibes.

A heavy drinker, as well as a pool-hall hustler when he needed to retrieve his drums from the pawnbroker, in 1950, Ellington responded to his drinking and occasional unreliability by taking a second drummer, Butch Ballard, with them on a tour of Scandinavia. This enraged Greer, and the consequent argument led to their permanent estrangement.

Sonny continued to play, mainly as a freelance drummer, working with musicians such as Johnny Hodges, Red Allen, J. C. Higginbotham, Tyree Glenn, and was there for the iconic 1958 Art Kane black-and-white photograph A Great Day In Harlem. He was part of a tribute to Ellington in 1974, which achieved great success throughout the United States.

Never recording as a leader, he was quite active as a sideman recording with not only seven albums with Duke but another twelve albums with Johnny Hodges, Bernard Addison, Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Lionel Hampton, Lonnie Johnson, Brooks Kerr, Oscar Pettiford, Rex Stewart, Victoria Spivey, and Josh White.

Drummer Sonny Greer , best known for his work with Duke Ellington, passed away of a heart attack on March 23, 1982 in Lenox Hill, on the upper East side of Manhattan.

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