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
heh,
I was thinking of Earl Palmer....
the guy had more recording sessions than Bonham Moon and Grohl combined.
Joe Morello
Louie Bellson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk6eEmmMERY&feature=related
Here’s a short clip of Palmer - even has some gongs! Yes - I’ve heard he thinks a bit too highly of himself. It seems like all of ELP was like that - too bad. It would be nice to see ELP still performing at the top of their game like Rush is. (Wishful thinking perhaps as ELP has many more years on the clock than Rush.)
The best have always worked in the studios and not made monkey ringo faces for the TV viewers! Get real!
Yes. Palmer is a great drummer. Much better than most on that list.
I have to agree I saw him play on tv the other night and was shocked at his freaking brilliance at playing..
One thing that never gets talked about in threads like this is in depth discussions on the individual drummers understanding of odd time signatures. Buddy Rich was well known for his encyclopedic knowledge of such hard time signatures as 13/4, 13/8, 11/4 etc. This is a divide between musical knowledge and what sounds good to the average music listener that best does not fit into. In my estimation, Buddy and his clinical and musical knowledge surpasses the rest. Was he the best at fitting his drumming to the demands of the music? Was he the best at energizing a crowd with his drumming? Was he a good improviser as well, so that he listened as well as he played? There are so many facets to good drumming that it is very hard to pick “best” among so many needed talents.
70 posts in the thread, and I’m the first to mention Max Roach or Ed Shaugnessy?
Like I said - I’m no drum expert. Had to search on youtube for Aynsley Dunbar. He sure got around! I liked the sixties English Blues songs/groups that I heard. I never got the whole Frank Zappa thing. Peart is one of my favorites - a bit too precise for some I know but I like it. (Wish he still used real chimes, wood blocks and cowbells though!)
I wore the tape out watching it over and over and over.
I'd rank Neil and Buddy as tied for #1. Neil is a machine.
Greg Lake put on weight and was not happy with his singing. Emerson was trying to get him to do a reunion but Lake was not interested - last I heard. Emerson had his hand operated on too.
They are all outstanding musicians. Lake had a great voice.
I'll open with Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Gotta agree. Any such list that doesn’t begin with either Billy Cobham or Buddy Rich is nonsense.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWBnH_TWY6Q
Here’s a live clip from their 2008 tour. Has the short insturmental “Malignant Narcissim” (a GREAT song) that perhaps highlights a drummer’s skill the most (working with the other parts). And then Peart’s drum solo, which includes a tribute to Buddy Rich. (The horn sounds are triggered on the electronic drum pad.)
May I add these three for your approval Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and Jerry Garcia. Can’t leave out Keith Richards.
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