1. Jonathan Phillip "Sugarfoot" Moffett was born on November 17,1954 and is an American drummer, songwriter and record producer from New Orleans, Louisiana.
42 Facts About Jonathan Moffett
1. 2.
Jonathan Moffett is the third of a musical family of siblings.
3.
Jonathan Moffett's influences are Zigaboo, Buddy Rich, Louis Bellson, Billy Cobham, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Roger Taylor and other drummers, mostly originating from New Orleans.
4.
Jonathan Moffett initially wanted to play the bass guitar long before drums.
5.
Jonathan Moffett was always acutely aware of the bass guitar parts in songs and mimicked them on the bass drum.
6.
Jonathan Moffett was never musically trained and learned to play drums on his own by ear.
7.
Jonathan Moffett was nicknamed "Sugarfoot" for his quick, articulate, and pronounced bass drum work, which requires a lot of precision and stamina for a drummer.
8.
Jonathan Moffett plays 16th note, 32nd note, and 64th note figures energetically and fluidly within rhythms.
9.
Jonathan Moffett started off his drumming career by performing locally with prominent bands within the region and at nightclubs as a young boy.
10.
Jonathan Moffett [McField] called that night and the audition was set for the next day.
11.
Jonathan Moffett used his "one-handed cymbal catch" frequently, in which Moffett explained to Zildjian:.
12.
Jonathan Moffett proceeded to perform on the Triumph Tour in 1981, which Rolling Stone later named as one of the best 25 tours of 1967 to 1987.
13.
Jonathan Moffett drummed around the United States and Canada for the record-breaking and famous Victory Tour, where he met Madonna backstage who asked him to drum for her upcoming Virgin Tour.
14.
Jonathan Moffett performed with Eddie Van Halen, who made a few special appearances on some of the shows playing "Beat It" on guitar.
15.
When Jonathan Moffett turned professional, he designed innovative futuristic drum kits for every tour to complement the stage design.
16.
Jonathan Moffett was present during the infamous Pepsi commercial shoot in 1984 when Jackson suffered from second-degree burns from the blazing pyrotechnics.
17.
Jonathan Moffett noticed the flames on Jackson's hair at one point during the shoot and dropped his drum sticks and ran to help him just as some crew members did the same.
18.
Jonathan Moffett later recorded on the Jacksons' albums Victory and 2300 Jackson Street.
19.
Jonathan Moffett was featured in Madonna's 1985 "Dress You Up" music video which was basically concert footage of her performing the song during the Virgin Tour.
20.
The tour was followed by a 1991 motion picture film, Madonna: Truth or Dare, which Jonathan Moffett was featured in.
21.
Jonathan Moffett recorded drums, percussion, and background vocals on all three albums.
22.
Jonathan Moffett drummed on John's Sleeping with the Past album, which was John's best selling album in Denmark, where the album was recorded.
23.
Jonathan Moffett was credited for live drumming on John's Duets album for the song "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" which was recorded live with George Michael at Wembley Arena in 1991.
24.
Jonathan Moffett performed with Michael at the Rock in Rio II festival, which is a recurring music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
25.
Jonathan Moffett toured with Janet Jackson during the first leg of her janet.
26.
Jonathan Moffett continued to perform with Michael Jackson throughout the duration of his solo career on various shows and tours, such as his third and final tour, the HIStory World Tour.
27.
Jonathan Moffett drummed for the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration shows at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on September 7 and 10,2001, and the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert led by Jackson himself in Washington, DC among several others on October 21,2001.
28.
Jonathan Moffett drummed for the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration shows, which took place on September 7 and 10,2001.
29.
Jonathan Moffett drummed with the rest of the band on the balcony right above the performers.
30.
Jackson asked Jonathan Moffett to collaborate on a song he wrote for Diana Ross titled "Muscles".
31.
Jonathan Moffett was supposed to perform on Jackson's This Is It concerts, rehearsing for months.
32.
Jonathan Moffett was featured in Michael Jackson's This Is It documentary motion picture film alongside many other concert films, shows, and documentaries.
33.
Jonathan Moffett was Jackson's live drummer of choice from the beginning when he first started drumming with the Jacksons.
34.
Jonathan Moffett was with Jackson the night before he died until 1 AM.
35.
Jonathan Moffett performed at the Staples Center during the Michael Jackson memorial service.
36.
Jonathan Moffett performed at the Australian Music Show and hosted a drum clinic in which he performed ten Michael Jackson songs that were supposed to be performed during This Is It.
37.
Jonathan Moffett was featured in Spike Lee's 2016 Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall documentary, which was Lee's second documentary on Michael Jackson since Bad 25.
38.
Jonathan Moffett spoke of his initial audition with the Jacksons and early days with Jackson and the group.
39.
Jonathan Moffett is currently sponsored by Drum Workshop, Remo Drum Heads, Empire Ear Monitors, Earthworks Microphones, Roland, Audeze Headphones, QSC and Gruv Gear.
40.
Jonathan Moffett is currently in the process of designing his very own drum products and has an upcoming line of drum sticks out now called "Sweet Beats", which are sold on his web store, the Moffett Store.
41.
Jonathan Moffett is designing his very own tuning keys, which appear like very expensive jewelry.
42.
Jonathan Moffett's drumming techniques and style are often mimicked by drummers all over the world to this day, and his work is taught in various music schools.