Drums: Zak Starkey
‘Best drummer in the world? He’s not even the best drummer in The Beatles!’ Paul McCartney once quipped of Zak’s old man. You can’t diss Ringo Jr’s talents, though. Trained by ‘Uncle Keith’ (that’s Keith Moon to you and me), he’s currently The Who’s regular sticksman and he once did time with Oasis – the kings of Dadrock, ironically enough.
Chip off the old block: Not as handsome as his dad (can there ever be a more damning statement than that?), he’d win out in a Starkey drum-off. Youtube ‘Zak Starkey drum fill’ to see what the lad can do.
Bass: Dhani Harrison
The son of George Harrison cut his teeth in tragic circumstances. In the weeks and months following his father’s death, he worked with producer Jeff Lynne to complete the album his dad had been working on as he succumbed to cancer, and assisted Eric Clapton in pulling together his father’s all-star tribute concert during the following year. His own band, Thenewno2, deals in an updated take on psychedelia. It may not have been a huge commercial success, but at least it’s not Kula Shaker.
Chip off the old block: During his father’s tribute concert, Paul McCartney noted that, ‘with Dhani up on stage, it looks like George stayed young and we all got old.’ In certain photos, father and son are indistinguishable. Try ‘The New John Doe’ for an example of dad’s quirky influence.
Lead guitar: Dweezil Zappa
Unlike Zowie Bowie, who legally changed his name to Duncan, Dweezil has held onto his freaky middle name (his given name is the slightly more office-friendly Ian). He has successfully carried the family name forward with his Zappa Plays Zappa tour, though his first hit came at the age of 13 with his single, ‘My Mother is a Space Cadet’. Not that father Frank had any influence over him or anything…
Chip off the old block: He’s a bit more wholesome looking than his crazed father, who – let’s face it – was never someone you’d comfortably take home to meet your mother. He obviously doesn’t have a problem with who he is, though: try his cover of dad’s ‘The Torture Never Stops’ – beautiful in spite of the title.
Keyboards and vocals: Norah Jones
The daughter of Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar couldn’t sound less like her father if she tried, but for 35 million people, that seems to be a very saleable thing indeed. While we like her better in guitar-slinging El Madmo mode, there’s no denying she can tickle the ivories, and with hefty James McCartney as our only other option, we’ll thank her for bringing the eye candy, too.
Chip off the old block: The nearest Norah has come to sounding like dad is on ‘Easy’, a collaboration with half-sister Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale. It’s kinda pretty, but she’s not squeezing it onto our setlist.
Guitar and vocals: Jakob Dylan
Looks like a Dylan, sounds like a Dylan, must be a… no, you don’t dare finish that sentence while Jakob is around! Famously grumpy on the subject of Old Man Bob, he is actually the most successful kid in our band, with the exception of Miss Jones. Still, he looks the part (how could he not?) and we like the idea of pairing his gruff growl with Norah’s birdsong, much like his dad did with Emmylou Harris back in the day.
Chip off the old block: As a member of the Wallflowers , ‘One Headlight’ was his biggest hit. However, his recent Q&A session (check YouTube) is enjoyably tongue in cheek, especially when someone tries to label him ‘the voice of a generation’. Now, where has he heard that before?
