Get Your Shit Together

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A conventional bio of Hunt Sales would start by noting his famous associations, recounting his much-revered work as a sideman for Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop and David Bowie. It would trumpet the fact that he’s long been considered one of the world’s greatest drummers, a secret weapon deployed in the service of rock royalty. But that’s not how Sales identifies, nor how he sees himself. “I’m gonna fucking tell you who I am,” says Sales with gruff candor. “What I really am is my kids’ father and my wife’s husband. And I’m a heroin addict. A bad heroin addict for 40 years. I’ve been a crackhead. And I’ve been a criminal. Those are the facts. But I don’t do drugs anymore. I’m sober now. All I do is make music — so let’s not be late for the show.” In a career that began when he was teen in the mid-’60s, Sales has seen and done it all. Beyond his impressive rock ’n’ roll c.v. he’s played blues for the legendary Lowell Fulson, recorded with funk master Bootsy Collins, jammed out