If nothing else, drummer Johny Barbata has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, be it sitting on Albert Einstein's lap at age 3 or playing on classic Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tours. He drummed for acts as diverse as The Turtles and Jefferson Airplane (and later Starship). He's written a memoir, The Legendary Life of a Rock Star Drummer, and he's appearing at drum stores today and Saturday to meet fans.

Why write the book?

Barbata: "My wife said, 'You're part of rock 'n' roll history, so you need to write a book.' I'd write down one chapter with The Beatles, one with Neil Young - a name would become a chapter. I had about 100 chapters. One of the great stories was when I met The Beatles when I was with The Turtles. We were renting their Rolls-Royce for the weekend. (At a London club later on) it was a who's who. I look over at the bar and there's Paul McCartney having a drink with Graham Nash, who I later played with but didn't know at the time. Brian Jones is there with a big smile on his face - he's got a blonde on each arm. There was Rod Stewart with Eric Burdon. To top it all, they had all these Danish and French models walking around. It was rock 'n' roll heaven. I'm sitting between Ringo and John and didn't know what to say. One of our roadies tripped and dropped a whole pitcher of beer on John Lennon."

Were they aware of your work at that point?

Barbata: "Absolutely. When we met Paul McCartney later he remembered that Happy Together knocked Penny Lane out of the No. 1 slot. It was the biggest single of the year. McCartney had quite a memory."

After touring with CSNY, you were on Neil's legendary Time Fades Away tour and live album. What do you remember?

Barbata: "He said, 'Will you come play drums with me?' I said, 'Sure, where do you want me?' He said, 'How about Baton Rouge, La.?' I rushed to the airport and just made it. To make a long story short, I did a 20-minute rehearsal and had to play an hour-and-45-minute set. I watched the bass player, and Neil and was just fortunate to pull it off."

Time Fades Away sounds like controlled chaos.

Barbata: "Yeah, but it really was a great album. . . . It really was a super group. David Crosby said, 'Welcome to rock 'n' roll heaven.' I didn't know what he meant, but by the end of the tour I did. Everyone had their own limos. Everything was sold out. Dylan came out. There was a party with The Band. (Rick) Danko was beating everybody at pool."

Did you keep journals, or was this from memory?

Barbata: "All from memory. I started writing and I really got better at it. I finally became a good writer through doing this book. I print 500 at a time, and after I sell them we change stuff around, put in more chapters. There are stories about Buddy Rich in there. I've got stories about Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Ry Cooder, Mitch Mitchell. I even got a picture of Grace Slick at her wedding in Hawaii. Nobody has that."

Johny Barbata book signing

• When and where: noon to 5:30 p.m. today, Drum City, 9225 W. 44th. Ave., Wheat Ridge, and noon to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Rupp's Drums, 2045 S. Holly St.

• Cost: free

• Information: johny barbata. com

Mark Brown is the popular music critic. Brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2674