In 1971 the drummer Ian Wallace, who has died aged 60 of complications connected to oesophageal cancer, replaced Andy McCullough in King Crimson, just before it changed from a five to a four-piece group. Two successful albums followed, Islands (1971) - which entered the British top 30 - and the in-concert Earthbound (1972), which demonstrated Wallace's instrumental precision. But the latter was taped during a US tour that focused on disagreements - with Wallace siding with vocalist Boz Burrell and woodwind player Mel Collins against leader Robert Fripp.
In April 1972, Wallace, followed by Collins and Burrell, joined the shortlived Snape, centred on Alexis Korner, for the album, Accidentally Born in New Orleans (1973), and a European tour. "There was a lot of drinking, drug-taking and womanising," said Wallace, "We were all living the rock'n'roll myth."
During his career, he worked with Bob Dylan, Crosby Stills & Nash, Johnny Hallyday, Bonnie Raitt, Procol Harum, Jackson Browne, Don Henley and many others. It was in the late 1970s that he was enlisted into Bob Dylan's backing band, a period that embraced Street Legal. Wallace was fired in 1979.
Born in Bury, now in Greater Manchester, he was educated at the local grammar school where he was captivated by jazz and joined a beat group, the Jaguars, with fellow pupils. Leaving school at 16, he worked, unhappily, as an NHS clerk before joining the Warriors, an Accrington sextet fronted by Jon Anderson, later of Yes. After touring West German clubs and US bases, the group returned to Britain, and recorded a flop single, Don't Make Me Blue, for Decca, which they featured in Just For You (1964), a pop B-movie. The group split in 1966.
King Crimson came after a period in various groups - including a fleeting spell with Yes - and Wallace also served Vivian Stanshall and Neil Innes. He was rehired by Dylan from 1990 and was bemused by the presence of a second drummer on stage - and the offhand call from Dylan's office that ended his stint three years later - although the two remained friends. "I don't hold any grudges," said Wallace. "He's one of the greatest blues singers of our time."
In the late 1990s, Wallace moved to Nashville as a successful session musician. His commissions over the decades included comparative unknowns such as Duster Bennett and Keith Christmas and the Traveling Wilburys with Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty. A competent producer, he acquired his skills by shadowing studio methodology from the days of the Warriors onwards.
Most recently, Wallace toured with former King Crimson personnel in the 21st Century Schizoid Band, and, in 2005, issued his only solo album, Happiness With Minimal Side Effects. Also that year, he recorded King Crimson Songbook Volume 1 with the Crimson Jazz Trio, who were planning concert appearances this spring.
He is survived by his wife Marjorie Pomeroy, two stepdaughters and his parents.
· Ian Russell Wallace, drummer, born September 29 1946; died February 22 2007