Classic Rock Band Announces Death of Former Member: RIP to Hilly Michaels

Musician Hilly Michaels, who is best known as the drummer for Sparks in the 1970s, has died. He was 77.

Sparks members Russell and Ron Mael shared the news on Nov. 14, sharing on the band’s Instagram page, “We are saddened by the passing of Hilly Boy Michaels.”

They continued, “He was Sparks’ drummer during the Big Beat (1976) era, but stayed in the ‘Sparks realm’ throughout the years. Our thoughts are with his friends and family.”

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Michaels’ fans were quick to mourn his loss. “His ‘Calling All Girls’ disc is wonderful!” wrote one Instagram user. “Sorry to hear he left the stage.” Another added, “So sorry to hear, may he rest in peace,” as a third echoed, “So sad to hear. He was a lovely unique guy and rock solid musician.”

“Such a hidden gem of a musician. It shouldn’t need to be mentioned, but Calling All Girls is so good,” a different user noted, as another fan wrote, “That is sad to hear. May he rock eternal.”

Michaels, born Michael Hillman on July 3, 1948, in New Haven, Conn., first played in a band called Joy with a young Michael Bolton. He then went on to perform on Sparks’ 1976 album Big Beat as a New York-based session drummer before going on tour with the Maels.

Michaels also played with artists including The Cherry Vanilla Band, The Ian Hunter Band, Peach & Lee, Sparks, Ellen Foley, The Hunter/Ronson Band, Dan Hartman, John Mellencamp, Marianne Faithfull, and Ronnie Wood over his career, and released two solo albums in the ’80s — Calling All Girls (1980) and Lumia (1981).

Michaels’ songs can be heard in the movies Caddyshack and Die Laughing, and in the movie Rollercoaster, he can be seen performing the songs “Big Boy” and “Fill’er Up” with Sparks.