US drummer Ricky Lawson dies at 59 STUDIO drummer Ricky Lawson, a collaborator with musicians including Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston, died at a Los Angeles hospital following a brain aneurysm. He had become disoriented during a performance on December 13 and was diagnosed with the aneurysm. His uncle, Paul Riser, said Lawson, 59, was removed from life support 10 days after the diagnosis and died about 7pm on Monday. Lawson was being treated at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, about 25 miles south of Los Angeles. The Detroit native learnt to play drums at 16 and entered the music business before graduating from Cooley High School, developing into one of the US's top studio musicians in the 1980s. His work appears on Houston's version of I Will Always Love You. He also performed with Al Jarreau, George Benson, Bette Midler, Quincy Jones and many others. Lawson won a Grammy Award in 1986 for R&B instrumental performance for the song And You Know That by his group, Yellowjackets. Drummer Questlove of the Roots called Lawson "the master" on Twitter in a message on December 18. Drummer Sheila E tweeted on Tuesday: "We lost a great man, drummer, father, brother and son. mr Ricky Lawson. He passed away yesterday. Please pray for his family. we will miss u.