78. Omar Hakim: Drumming with David Bowie, Weather Report, Nile Rodgers, Dire Straits, Miles | Part 1

Episode 78: Omar Hakim. Today on the pod we’ve got one of the most recorded drummers of all time. The legendary Omar Hakim! We went deep for over 2 hours, and unlocked SO MUCH GOLD, so we’re releasing this conversation in two parts. In Part 1, Omar shares the stories behind some of his most iconic recordings, including his legendary session with David Bowie on Let’s Dance, his deep musical relationship with Nile Rodgers, and his time in Weather Report. We also get into the wild story of how he tracked the entire Dire Straits album "Brothers in Arms" (including the questions I’ve always had about Money for Nothing). With this interview, I hope you'll now understand how Omar became the legend he is today. I think your mind will be blown when you hear about the caliber of musicians that were around him since he was a kid! Part 2 drops next week. For now, here’s the first hour of my conversation with the amazing Omar Hakim. ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights. (0:00:00) INTRO (0:04:57) STARTING PROFESSIONALLY AT AGE 10 (0:05:57) JAMAICA QUEENS, NEW YORK (0:07:13) TOURING WITH JAY MASON AT AGE 15 (0:08:08) OPENING FOR HALL & OATS, PLAYING ARENAS AS A TEENAGER (0:08:42) LABELLE, LADY MARMALADE (0:11:15) JOINING WEATHER REPORT (0:11:35) DAVID SANDBOURNE, “AS WE SPEAK” RECORD, MARCUS MILLER (0:12:10) CARLY SIMON (0:13:29) OTHER GIGS IN TEENAGE YEARS (0:14:18) OPENING FOR “RETURN TO FOREVER” (0:15:00) CHICK COREA, STANLEY CLARKE STORY (0:20:02) GETTING THE GIG WITH WEATHER REPORT (0:21:41) MILES DAVIS (0:22:53) GETTING THE GIG WITH WEATHER REPORT CONTINUED (0:24:57) HUGH MASEKELA, VICTOR BAILEY (0:26:56) HOW THE WEATHER REPORT GIG CHANGED OMAR’S LIFE (0:27:31) NILE RODGERS (0:28:32) DAVID BOWIE’S “LET’S DANCE” (0:33:08) BECOMING A MUSICAL CHAMELEON (0:34:08) “LET’S DANCE” DRUM PART, THOUGHT PROCESS (0:36:53) RECORDING “RICOCHET” WITH DAVID BOWIE (0:38:22) TIPS FOR SESSION MUSICIANS (0:40:05) GROWING UP WITH NILE RODGERS (0:41:59) NILE RODGERS, “GOOD TIMES” MASTERING SESSION (0:44:58) NILE RODGERS AS A PRODUCER (0:47:23) DAVID BOWIE SESSIONS, SAYING NO TO TOURING (0:50:26) DAVID BOWIE “TONIGHT” ALBUM RECORDING (0:51:42) TURNING DOWN BOWIE FOR WEATHER REPORT (0:55:22) DIRE STRAITS “MONEY FOR NOTHING” Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!   Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/ Follow Omar: https://www.instagram.com/omarhakimmusic/ Follow Go With Elmo: https://www.instagram.com/gowithelmo/ https://www.tiktok.com/@gowithelmo https://x.com/gowithelmopod Follow Elmo Lovano: https://Instagram.com/elmolovano https://x.com/elmolovano