Greatest Rock Drummers

Ginger has played some Rock music, and played in some Rock bands, but his basic approach to playing drums is that of a Jazz drummer. That’s one element of my "problem" with Cream, and Ginger’s playing in that band; their music was basically blues, but played by non-Blues players, at least Ginger and Jack Bruce. It doesn’t "work", it sounds "wrong". Jazz and Blues are very different musics, opposites in fact. Before Cream, Ginger and Jack were in The Graham Bond Organization together, a Trad Jazz band in London. Prior to Cream, Ginger had never played Rock music, or in a Rock band. His drumming models are Art Blakely and Elvin Jones, pure Jazz players.

Steve Jordan (the drummer Keith Richards chose for his "Hail, Hail Rock 'n' Roll" Chuck Berry documentary movie band), in his testimonial to the brilliance of Band drummer Levon Helm, described Levon’s approach to playing drums as that of a Blues player, and I agree. The fact that Levon played Rock ’n’ Roll in a R & R band does not change that fact.

Interviewer: "Could you play in the Buddy Rich Big Band?"

Keith Moon: "No, and Buddy Rich couldn’t play in The Who."

Another fact: Though Earl Palmer was a New Orleans Jazz drummer, and at the end of his life was playing in a Jazz trio at Chadneys Steak House in Burbank, CA (where I and the bass player of Los Straitjackets---himself a drummer and huge Earl Palmer fan---went to watch and listen to him), he is credited with actually inventing Rock ’n’ Roll drumming.

There is a thread on Steve Hoffman’s Forum where people offer their opinion on Earl, and there you can find an incredible list of the recordings on which he played. Far and away the "best" drummer to ever play Rock ’n’ Roll. Not just technically, but in terms of great song parts, excitement, creativity, and a sense of musical humour that tops even that of Keith Moon!

You are of course right, Steve. Ringo was the best drummer for The Beatles, Keith Moon the best for The Who (though Zak Starkey, Ringo’s kid, is doing a fantastic job in The Who now. I saw Keith with The Who live twice, and he was a possessed madman. I mean that literally).

But seriously, take a look at Earl Palmer’s recording credits on the thread about him on the Steve Hoffman Forum. Astounding! If ANYONE can be called the best, it is he.

All the drummers mentioned here have their own, identifiable style, which is the important thing. It is said Buddy Rich thought John Bonham's technique was vastly over-rated, and did a spot-on imitation of him. But Bonham was a very influential drummer, THE most so of our era---the Gene Krupa of Rock.

But the talent of the musicians gets you only so far; if they are playing "right", they are serving the music first and foremost. If The Beatles songs hadn’t been so good, who would care about Ringo? The song is the same as the script is to a movie; sure, you need good actors to bring it to life, but without a good script you got nothin’. Forget good musician’s, give me good songs!

Jazz and Blues are very different musics, opposites in fact.

Not just drummers need good time. Ask any recording engineer about guitarists doing overdubs; many "rush", not laying back and waiting for the groove, so hot to play their solo that they jump out ahead of the rhythm section. I’ve seen it time and time again in the studio.

Bluegrass musicians have the best sense of time I’ve seen or heard. Since they all create the groove---Bluegrass bands don’t have drummers---they really lock together. Some of the best music being made today, imo, is Bluegrass. Great songs, great singing, great musicianship, and no over-playing drummer to have to rein in!

I was out on a little cruise this afternoon on the Willamette River in Portland, and there just happened to be a Led Zeppelin tribute band (tribute bands are huge up here in the Northwest) playing in the lounge. Watching and listening to the band’s drummer (who was pretty darn good), I was reminded of what I so dislike about Bonham---his playing was so "literal", so un-poetic. It didn’t have any elegance, any grace. Almost rude! His bass drum triplets (one of the tricks he is known for) were played just to show he could do it, not to serve any higher purpose; they didn’t have anything to do with what anyone else was playing or singing, or to the song itself (of course, Led Zeppelin didn’t have much in the way of songs anyway). That’s the lack of musicality I’m always talking about.

To hear what musicality in a Rock ’n’ Roll drummer sounds like, listen to Earl Palmer, Jim Gordon, Levon Helm, and Roger Hawkins. The masters! Three out of four were studio musicians, one the drummer in the best band Rock ’n’ Roll has so far produced.

All great comments. As always, taste is personal. For instance, I love Bonham's snare sound (a 6.5" deep metal Ludwig shell), but hate Chad's (that high-pitched wood piccolo sound).

What constitutes over-playing is a matter of opinion. The tale I have told before bears repeating. Master guitarist Danny Gatton, after a few songs into the first gig with his new drummer, had the following exchange with him:

Danny: "You know that fancy stuff you're playing?"

drummer: "Yeah."

Danny: "Don't."

Bonham's playing absolutely works in Led Zeppelin, the same way Keith Moon's does in The Who. Neither could have played on the Aretha Franklin recordings Jerry Wexler produced in Muscle Shoals, which feature the great Roger Hawkins on drums. And Roger's playing would not be appropriate in Zeppelin or The Who. It worked awfully well in late Traffic, though. Horses for courses.

One more thing: Taste, economy, and lack of over-playing need not restrict a drummer to playing nothing more than keeping time, playing only the 2/4 backbeat and four-on-the-floor bass drum patterns. Do yourself a favor and listen to Levon Helm's playing on the first Band album, and his and Band pianist Richard Manuel's (he's a very creative, really inventive and interesting drummer) playing on the second. And for really wild, off-the-wall playing, Earl Palmer on the many early Rock 'n' Roll recordings he played on---Little Richard, for instance. He swung like mad, and had chops to die for. NOBODY played like Earl!

John Bonham's part in "Rock and Roll" is a direct cop of Earl Palmer's in Little Richard's "Keep-A-Knockin'"