Posted on 02/10/2011 9:55:55 PM PST by My Favorite Headache
Last weekend we asked our readers to name the greatest drummers of all time. Everybody from Eric Carr to Animal from The Muppets got votes, but Led Zeppelin's John Bonham led the list by a significant margin.
1. John Bonham - Led Zeppelin 2. Keith Moon - The Who 3. Neil Peart - Rush 4. Dave Grohl - Nirvana/Foo Fighters 5. Ringo Starr - The Beatles 6. Buddy Rich 7. Stewart Copeland - The Police 8. ?uestlove - The Roots 9. Ginger Baker - Cream 10. Michael Shrieve - Santana/Sammy Hagar
Where’s Lionel Hampton?
Oops!!! Sorry about that.
I don’t know his real name.
I’ll throw a relatively unknown name out there, Barry “Frosty” Smith played with many bands including Lee Michaels and Frosty...
drum solo on part 2 and part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZvMx1DXxKI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRH27RH8OFQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX9uGX2bBv4&feature=related
I’ll throw a relatively unknown name out there, Barry “Frosty” Smith played with many bands including Lee Michaels and Frosty...
drum solo on part 2 and part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZvMx1DXxKI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRH27RH8OFQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX9uGX2bBv4&feature=related
How in heck does Bonham get in before Moon ??? And at the top of the list even!!! Ringo at #5 ??? C'mon gimme a break, and I'm a big Beatles fan too, but GEEZ, Ringo #5???
I suppose the real insult is Buddy Rich at a lowly #7 .. if anything, Buddy was a huge influence on ALL of the drummers 1 thru 6 ... what a mess Rolling Stone did once again. /sigh
Longevity (from Glass Harp in '71 or so until today and still going strong) and absolute, unspeakable, versatility, way ahead of the curve (e.g. I saw him in concert doing Amazing Grace on the E-bow back in 1980). Who else had *heard* of the E-bow back then?
Virtuoso on both electric and acoustic.
His albums don't do him justice, you have to see him live.
Cheers!
Must be rock drummers. An all-time list that doesn't include Gene Krupa isn't worth reading.
I saw Buddy Rich play once...I was stunned.
“No Ian Paice in the top ten...? Ridiculous.”
LOL! Tic-Toc-Tic-Toc at (3:01-3:13) And (3:35-3:44) = Ten seconds of drumming that John Bonham or Keith Moon could only dream of.
Ladies and Gents, and Rolling Stone readers, THIS is Ian Paice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyy_y6yPJeU
I was watching the “Benny Goodman Story” the other day. Gene Krupa played himself in it, along with Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton.
In the forties and fifties the studios made some interesting biopics about musicians. The stories were fabricated fluff of course (although the BG one had some accurate parts) but part of the fun with them was many of the original artists were still alive, so they played themselves. One of the best with that was Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin). That one even had some of the old twenties vaudevillians that made his music famous.
They would apply a ton of pancake to make these old guys look young. Of course they just made them look strange, but they are fun to watch, knowing you really are looking at the history. With the BG one they actually recreated his famous 38 Carnegie Hall concert, with the original Krupa, Harry James, etc.
Rhapsody is OOP and hard to get. I just keep waiting patiently.
Michael Shrieve. I saw him at Tost a few months ago. The guy has only gotten better since back in the day.
This list isn’t the best. It’s the best of the famous. And even then it’s based more on fame than quality.
Yup. On the other hand, Andy Summers was free to pursue his solo career, some of which is outstanding.
By far, Buddy Rich remains my all-time favorite and “the greatest drummer ever to draw breath” (Gene Krupa said that).
After Buddy, my top 100 list of influences and mentors is diverse (in no particular order:
Anton Fig
Dave Tough
Carl Palmer
Larrie Londin
Alex Van Halen
Chad Wackerman
Cozy Powell
Ed Soph
Dave Grohl
Max Weinberg
Chester Thompson
Hal Blaine
Art Blakey
Jim Chapin
Dino Danelli
Barrett Deems
Warren “Baby” Dodds
Aynsley Dunbar
Phil Ehart
Sonny Greer
John Guerin
Shelly Manne
Alphonse Mouzon
Roy Haynes
Tommy Igoe
Dave Weckl
Narada Michael Walden
Tony Royster Jr.
Danny Seraphine
Bernard Purdie
Nigel Olsson
Gregg Bissonette
Alan White
Joe Porcaro
Russ Kunkel
Mike Portnoy
Don Alias
Marco Minnemann
Clyde Stubblefield
Chick Webb
Roy Burns
Danny Carey
Ron Tutt
Lenny White
Earl Palmer
Sonny Payne
Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz
Bobby Colomby
Harvey Mason
Big Sid Catlett
Barry Altschul
Barriemore Barlow
Tommy Aldridge
Zutty Singleton
Steve Jordan
Joe La Barbera
Sandy Nelson
Deen Castronovo
Joe La Barbera
Grady Tate
Jack DeJohnette is a helluva drummer. He was often in Miles groups which used more than one drummer such as Bitches Brew one of the greatest albums ever recorded. That era’s group had incredible musicians but Miles always did. John McLaughlin, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Billy Cobham, Airto. He also played on both Fillmore Albums.
Tito Puente is an icon. I happen to love latin music and the main reason is the percussion. And no one has ever played the drums better than Tito.
Krupa was the best a legend. Modern times Tony Williams was my favorite. I don’t take rock drummers very seriously.
Hampton is more known for the xylophone.
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