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Greatest Rock Drummers!


Bonzo

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Great Thread! I agree with all of those listed so far and need to add the following:

James Kotak of The Scorpions, puts on a great show!

Danny Serephine of Chicago

And some OT drummers:

Sheila E gets my vote for "hottest drummer",

while the following get my vote for "cool":

(in no particular order)

Thelonious Monk

Buddy Miles

Lionel Hampton

Buddy Rich

and of course.....Gene Krupa

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I never got into Keith Moon. The only Who song I have covered in the countless bands I have been in is Pinball Wizard, pretty basic. While he is a great showman, probably second to Pete in The Who, I just feel he was all over the place with his playing. Ringo was the reason I started playing and hey, he was in that moderately popular band from England. Jim Capaldi is one of the best time keepers I have ever heard. Just listen to some of the original Traffic stuff like" Dear Mr. Fantasy." Come on, Ginger Baker? Dust off the Blind Faith album and listen to "Do What You Like." Nuff Said..... Oh, Dennis Chambers is Dave Matthews drummer, he's awesome!

Keith "Probably second to Pete in The Who." Pete Townshend was my first favorite gutar player and I still love him, not only was Keith "Probably second to Pete in The Who," but he was probably THIRD to Pete and Roger in The Who. (In my opinion)

But we're talking about a list of the greatest rock drummers and not only should Keith Moon be VERY near the top as I've already mentioned, but in some people's book he should be number two!

Listen to Keith Moon on "The Real Me" off Quadrophenia and of course "We Won't Get Fooled Again" most recently off "The Who, Now and Then"

The link goes into more detail from some so called rock and roll experts.Keith Moon

Regards,

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If we are talking Jazz drummers, that's a whole different animal! I listened to and tried to copy Joe Morello, Max Roach, Gene Krupa,, Omar Hakim, Billy Cobham and of course Buddy Rich! There are certainly others but these are the guys that got me interested in trying Jazz beats.

If I were to go onto the top 20 Rock Drummers certainly Hayward, Copeland, Palmer, Moon, Fleetwood, Keltner, and Aronoff would be represented.

How about drummers that lead the band like, Phil Collins, Don Henley, Carmine Appice, (already mentioned), and Levon Helm, OK maybe not the leader of "The Band" but certainly the glue!

Maybe be I should have started this as my "favorite" Rock Drummers?

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Cindy Blackman is one of THE hottest drummers today, male or female (and she's eye-candy to boot)![:P]

(My favorite drummers are Mick Fleetwood and Phil Collins, each have their own unique styles at keeping time).

http://www.cindyblackman.com/

post-11084-1381927188739_thumb.jpg

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Eric Carr for skill

Peter criss for flamboyance

drum kits rising 100 feet above the stage, fireworks, explosions. they even rotated it completely upside down and never missed a beat! thats showmanship and skill.

their drum solos on the live albums are killer.

i rely miss the solo's that were so prevalent on many 70's rock tracks.(both drum and guitar)

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If we are talking Jazz drummers, that's a whole different animal! I listened to and tried to copy Joe Morello, Max Roach, Gene Krupa,, Omar Hakim, Billy Cobham and of course Buddy Rich! There are certainly others but these are the guys that got me interested in trying Jazz beats. If I were to go onto the top 20 Rock Drummers certainly Hayward, Copeland, Palmer, Moon, Fleetwood, Keltner, and Aronoff would be represented. How about drummers that lead the band like, Phil Collins, Don Henley, Carmine Appice, (already mentioned), and Levon Helm, OK maybe not the leader of "The Band" but certainly the glue! Maybe be I should have started this as my "favorite" Rock Drummers?

Yes Bonzo, I noted dragon has some of the pop and swing drummers in his honorable mention category. Billy Cobham (who did some wonderful work with Tommy Bolin), Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, all great durmmers, but NOT ROCK as the category stipulates. Allan's mention of James Brown's skinman also more soul and R&B, imho.

WE'RE TALKING ROCK AND ROLL HERE.

I consider Frank Zappa's band one of the finest training grounds for musicians anywhere in the world. Chester Thompson (later pounding for Genesis) and Terry Bozio were great drummers with that band. Also agree with Danny Seraphine from Chicago, frequently overlooked in polls. Jim Keltner with that steady backbeat for John Lennon and countless others. And Prairie Prince from Tubes was selected by jazz/rock guitar great Tommy Bolin for his solo project.

I think what makes a lot of truly great session drummers like Steve Gadd seem like second tier to people is that they never got much stage time with a single band. Lacking longevity with a solid group seems to take them out of the running for greatness in the minds of a lot of people. Seems like they never found, or wanted to find, a niche. Not a bad thing in drumming where innovation is key.

A good source for names is the Playboy polls.

Anyone else out there like Ian Paice from Deep Purple?

Michael

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I figured with a name like STRUTTER, you'd be a KISS fan.

I found this interesting. From the Eric Carr website:

"The drums were recorded to sound like mini-cannons, on par with such heavy hitters as Led Zeppelin's John Bonham and Deep Purple's Ian Paice, while the band rediscovered their heavy metal roots."

I know some soundmen who compared the sound of John Bonham's snare shots to the sound of baseball bats exploding. That's the intensity he used. Modern drummers have the advantage of compression or digital sampling to pump up the drumming. I think the simple recording methods used on Bonzo's kit show how truly great he was at percussion. He could play not only hard and loud, but with finesse and beauty.

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I guess you guys have a much more narrow view of what "rock and roll" is than I.

Allan, I'll eat my previous words. You got me curious, and I'm an open minded kind of guy.

After viewing Earl Palmer's website and hearing a couple of tracks on Drumworld, the guy definitely does ROCK. Yes it's early formative stages and it's not the Hard Rock or Heavy Metal that most of are talking about , but where would any of that be without Little Richard, Elvis, and James Brown. He won't make the top 20 around here, but definitely contributed to what we appreciate as rock drumming today. Talk about intelligence, there's an interview with him talking about the beats for New Orleans style drumming that boggles the mind.

Thanks as always for your insight and uncanny ability to make me think in broader terms.

Michael

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Pete Best. Not the greatest but better than Ringo. I just

thought I'd

mention him out of pity. It looks like he's done alright but how

tragic to miss out on the biggest ride ever. If you ever

feel like you missed out on a big opportunity, just think of him.

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Hey Michael.

Hit the nail on the head with The Mothers....

How about John Mayall's alum.?

One of the most under rated drummers IMHO is Aynsley Dunbar, despite the fiasco with Journey. Probably Bonhams biggest influence! I saw him with Eric Burdon about 3 years ago and man has he got some chops! He made that little 4 piece Yammy kit explode! Listen to some of the stuff he did with Zappa, tight man tight!!

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