TONY BENNETT AND ME

TONY BENNETT (Anthony Dominick Benedetto) was born on August 3, 1926 in Astoria, Queens, New York. I have always had a massive respect for Tony Bennett and his singing - superb delivery, the great American song book, a love of jazz and a fine artist both as a singer and a painter. Comparisons with Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dick Haymes, Vic Damone, Mel Torme and other "crooners' is inevitable - and there is no question that Tony Bennett has splendidly withstood the test of time as one of the greatest.

For those of you that have read many of my "music blogs" you will know that I was fortunate to tour and present in concert many great artists especially in the genre of jazz (as well as the blues and pop/rock).  Being a professional drummer for a number of years it was inevitable that I would want to work with the world's greatest players and the thrill I had in presenting Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson and the their big bands was one of the big highlights of those years - as well as stars such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Woody Herman, Joe Pass, Art Pepper, Oscar Peterson, Diana Ross, Deniece Williams, Judy Collins, Michael Jackson (yes the Michael Jackson!) and later with Beyoncé, Shakira, Elton John, George Michael, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, Phil Collins and a host of others -  It was therefore a natural progression to want to tour and present some of the finest singers alive and Tony Bennett together with Frank Sinatra were top of my target list at that time.

My trips in the late 70's and early 80's, to New York were becoming more frequent and I had begun work with one of the top agencies APA (Agency for the Performing Arts) and its President Roger Vorce was becoming a good business friend. Well here goes - if you don't ask - you don't get - so I approached Roger about touring Tony Bennett and much to my surprise (relief) and wonder. the answer was "yes". I was thrilled because Tony for me was the consummate professional and a real star.

Tony arrived in London with his trio headed by pianist Ralph Sharon (Bass player John Burr and Drummer Joe La Barbera - we added Danny Moss a superb local tenor player) for the tour) - one of the first performances was at the opening of the new Barbican Concert Hall in London - this was a highly prestigious date and as you can probably imagine, I was on edge to make sure everything went well. The rehearsals went fine and when it came time for Tony and I to head to the stage for the show we got lost back stage trying to find the way - I think at one point we ended up in the car park - the venue was so new there were only a few signs saying where to go and in that warren of passages we were lost. Hell I was panicking, but luckily we just made it in time and of course, Tony was utterly brilliant.

We toured the country and went into Europe - the highlight was supposed to be at the Badrutt Palace Hotel in St Moritz, Switzerland - the hotel itself was splendid as you would expect of a hotel that catered to Kings, Queens, Presidents, Sheikhs, Industrial Magnates and the world's richest people - however, as is often the case with rich people - they can get bored easily and at times do not always reflect the level of manners and intelligence you would think some of these people would have - what occurred was that after the first twenty minutes or so many of the audience left and Tony had to contend with a half house. Tony coped with it with grace and charm and nothing fazed him - the ultimate professional.  

Back in London we sold out the Royal Festival Hall concerts which featured a big band and string section with some of the UK's top session players - also during that time I had negotiated with the BBC a television special with Tony and Buddy Rich and his Band.  I remember Buddy and Tony stayed at the St James Hotel and both of them wondering who had the largest suite! The TV special was a great success with Buddy and the band playing great behind Tony.

This last photo was of an earlier (1964) TV special - ours was in 1981 - Buddy and Tony were old friends and the show went swimmingly well much to my relief.

Tony came back again for the second tour and as before we made the rounds of the big concert halls in the UK and Europe - We also exhibited Tony's paintings in a major London art gallery with a champagne reception for the press and public. Tony got excellent reviews for his art - London was in love with him and so was I!

Looking back at that time I realised how great Tony was with his fans - when we were at airports waiting for flights, hotels or other public places, Tony always had time for fans who wanted an autograph or just to say hello and talk. He said to me the day fans stop coming to me is probably the day I stop singing - Tony was so grateful to his fans and never forgot their importance to his career.

During this tour we learned that the great drummer Kenny Clare had died and there was a benefit night as one of London's Jazz Clubs - The Bull's Head in Barnes. Tony wanted to pay tribute to Kenny Clare, who had played with him many times previously and was one of Britain's top players. We hadn't told anyone that Tony would be coming - we literally just turned up - as you can imagine the audience were stunned when Tony and his trio with Ralph Sharon came on stage. This was a great example of Tony's humanity and closeness he feels for his musicians.

After these two tours, I sadly decided not to continue working with Tony Bennett. I won't go into the reasons, because its not important and because I respect him much too much as an artist and as a human being to discuss such issues in public - but I met him a few years ago at the Royal Albert Hall with Sir Paul McCartney back stage at a reception and we had a lovely chat - so the past was healed.

I am truly delighted that he is in his 90's and has been singing all over the world. His hit recordings with Lady Gaga put him in front of a generation that maybe had never heard of Tony Bennett. He is a great singer and exponent of a style of singing that has almost been forgotten today. I am very pleased to say I have worked with this wonderful artist on some of the world's top stages - thank you for your music Tony.  Never ever to be forgotten...

Since writing this blog, I have learned that Tony (now age 96) is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which was diagnosed in 2016.  We send prayers for him - bless him. Despite this, Tony has performed at Radio City Music Hall, performed on an MTV Unplugged show, and continued to record tracks with Lady Gaga for their 2021 album "Love for Sale". Tony's son Danny Bennett, said when announcing Tony's retirement in August 2021 that "the Alzheimer's was affecting Tony's short term memory, however his long term memory remains intact and he can fully remember all the lyrics to his repertoire when performing. 

God bless you Tony - you have us all great joy in your life.

SAVING THE OCEANS

The New York Times published an article regarding how we are destroying the Oceans. What is the matter with us humans? We seem to destroy everything we lay our hands upon. Please read the following – it is so urgent we change our ways and protect the Oceans and the life that lives in them. WE MUST ACT NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE:

A team of scientists, in a groundbreaking analysis of data from hundreds of sources, has concluded that humans are on the verge of causing unprecedented damage to the oceans and the animals living in them.

“We may be sitting on a precipice of a major extinction event,” said Douglas J. McCauley, an ecologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an author of the new research, which was published on Thursday in the Journal Science.

But there is still time to avert catastrophe, Dr. McCauley and his colleagues also found. Compared with the continents, the oceans are mostly intact, still wild enough to bounce back to ecological health.

“We’re lucky in many ways,” said Malin L. Pinsky, a marine biologist at Rutgers University and another author of the new report. “The impacts are accelerating, but they’re not so bad we can’t reverse them.”

Scientific assessments of the oceans’ health are dogged by uncertainty: It’s much harder for researchers to judge the well-being of a species living underwater, over thousands of miles, than to track the health of a species on land. And changes that scientists observe in particular ocean ecosystems may not reflect trends across the planet.

Dr. Pinsky, Dr. McCauley and their colleagues sought a clearer picture of the oceans’ health by pulling together data from an enormous range of sources, from discoveries in the fossil record to statistics on modern container shipping, fish catches and seabed mining. While many of the findings already existed, they had never been juxtaposed in such a way.

A number of experts said the result was a remarkable synthesis, along with a nuanced and encouraging prognosis.

“I see this as a call for action to close the gap between conservation on land and in the sea,” said Loren McClenachan of Colby College, who was not involved in the study.

There are clear signs already that humans are harming the oceans to a remarkable degree, the scientists found. Some ocean species are certainly overharvested, but even greater damage results from large-scale habitat loss, which is likely to accelerate as technology advances the human footprint, the scientists reported.

Coral reefs, for example, have declined by 40 percent worldwide, partly as a result of climate-change-driven warming.

Some fish are migrating to cooler waters already. Black sea bass, once most common off the coast of Virginia, have moved up to New Jersey. Less fortunate species may not be able to find new ranges. At the same time, carbon emissions are altering the chemistry of seawater, making it more acidic.

“If you cranked up the aquarium heater and dumped some acid in the water, your fish would not be very happy,” Dr. Pinsky said. “In effect, that’s what we’re doing to the oceans.”

Fragile ecosystems like mangroves are being replaced by fish farms, which are projected to provide most of the fish we consume within 20 years. Bottom trawlers scraping large nets across the sea floor have already affected 20 million square miles of ocean, turning parts of the continental shelf to rubble. Whales may no longer be widely hunted, the analysis noted, but they are now colliding more often as the number of container ships rises.

Mining operations, too, are poised to transform the ocean. Contracts for seabed mining now cover 460,000 square miles underwater, the researchers found, up from zero in 2000. Seabed mining has the potential to tear up unique ecosystems and introduce pollution into the deep sea.

The oceans are so vast that their ecosystems may seem impervious to change. But Dr. McClenachan warned that the fossil record shows that global disasters have wrecked the seas before. “Marine species are not immune to extinction on a large scale,” she said.

Until now, the seas largely have been spared the carnage visited on terrestrial species, the new analysis also found. The fossil record indicates that a number of large animal species became extinct as humans arrived on continents and islands. For example, the Moa, a giant bird that once lived on New Zealand, was wiped out by arriving Polynesians in the 1300's, probably within a century.

But it was only after 1800, with the Industrial Revolution, that extinctions on land really accelerated.

Humans began to alter the habitat that wildlife depended on, wiping out forests for timber, plowing under prairie for farmland, and laying down roads and railroads across continents.

Species began going extinct at a much faster pace. Over the past five centuries, researchers have recorded 514 animal extinctions on land. But the authors of the new study found that documented extinctions are far rarer in the ocean.

Before 1500, a few species of seabirds are known to have vanished. Since then, scientists have documented only 15 ocean extinctions, including animals such as the Caribbean monk seal and the Steller’s sea cow.

While these figures are likely underestimates, Dr. McCauley said that the difference was nonetheless revealing.

“Fundamentally, we’re a terrestrial predator,” he said. “It’s hard for an ape to drive something in the ocean extinct.”

Many marine species that have become extinct or are endangered depend on land — seabirds that nest on cliffs, for example, or sea turtles that lay eggs on beaches.

Still, there is time for humans to halt the damage, Dr. McCauley said, with effective programs limiting the exploitation of the oceans. The tiger may not be salvageable in the wild — but the tiger shark may well be, he said.

“There are a lot of tools we can use,” he said. “We better pick them up and use them seriously.”

Dr. McCauley and his colleagues argue that limiting the industrialization of the oceans to some regions could allow threatened species to recover in other ones. “I fervently believe that our best partner in saving the ocean is the ocean itself,” said Stephen R. Palumbi of Stanford University, an author of the new study.

The scientists also argued that these reserves had to be designed with climate change in mind, so that species escaping high temperatures or low pH would be able to find refuge.

COMMENTS

“It’s creating a hopscotch pattern up and down the coasts to help these species adapt,” Dr. Pinsky said.

Ultimately, Dr. Palumbi warned, slowing extinctions in the oceans will mean cutting back on carbon emissions, not just adapting to them.

“If very soon we are not off the business-as-usual curve we are now, I honestly feel there’s not much hope for normal ecosystems in the ocean,” he said. “But in the meantime, we do have a chance to do what we can. We have a couple decades more than we thought we had, so let’s please not waste it.”

Action Now - Please

THE DRUM KIT & GREAT DRUMMERS

I have added quite a lot of photos since I wrote this piece earlier this year. Inevitably there are major gaps in this story - but I hope this will pique your interest to learn more. The history of popular drumming is an exciting one to the student of drumming and indeed to all drummers who want to learn more about their art.

We are blessed to have photographs, videos and recordings of all of these great artists  - some recordings go back to the early part of the 1900's - please join the Great Drummers Group on Facebook where more than 5,000 drummers share the wonderful stories, photos and videos of the great players. There are also wonderful Facebook groups for Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich and other great players - the internet gives us all a unique opportunity to research and learn more. This blog is only a beginning - I hope you enjoy it:

I have been thrilled at the response to the GREATEST DRUMMERS EVER SERIES - of course, not everyone is interested in drums and drumming but to see the audiences over the years thrilled at watching a great drummer perform and the standing ovations they receive has been inspirational

You don't have to be a historian of drumming to appreciate a great player - you may not have heard of Baby Dodds, Zutty Singleton or Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich - maybe you have only listened to rock and pop players like John Bonham, Keith Moon or Ringo Starr - or today's stars like Neil Peart, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Smith, Peter Erskine or Steve Gadd who may have thrilled you - whatever your type of music - yes classical music too - the development of the drum kit, cymbals and pedals and so forth has largely come via the popular music of the day and especially jazz from the 1920's through to the thrilling 1930's of the "Swing era" - the development of Be-Bop in the 40's and of course, rock n'roll in the late 50's leading up to the present...

The following blog is only a potted history of the drum kit and the great drummers that played them - but hopefully it may inspire some of you to delve into the history of drums and drumming - its all out there to be discovered.

Many players contributed to the development of the drum kit, but the extraordinary success of one man GENE KRUPA in the 1930/40/50's changed the shape of the drum kit and the public awareness of the drummer as a superstar.

GENE KRUPA

Here is a photo (a little torn) of Gene Krupa playing behind the King of Swing Benny Goodman at the Paramount Theatre in New York City in (I believe 1937) - if you look at Gene's Slingerland drum kit it looks very similar to the drums that everyone plays today - OK many drummers today may have more drums and cymbals but the kit has fundamentally remained the same. Here is a montage of drummers using Slingerland Drums with Gene proudly sitting in the centre...

Gene Krupa with Charlie Ventura

Earlier drummers played on kits that varied significantly - Chinese non-tuneable tom toms were in vogue and wood-blocks and other ephemera were popular - look at the following drum kit of the renowned teacher ROY KNAPP

Here is CHICK WEBB - the KING OF THE SAVOY BALLROOM playing his unique kit:

Please get hold of a copy of Chet Falzerrano's marvellous book called "Spinning' the Webb CHICK WEBB The Little Giant - fascinating book and a must for all drummers

One of the band leaders in the late 1920's and 1930's was BEN POLLACK, who helped the careers of so many leading players from Glenn Miller to Benny Goodman - look at Ben's big bass drum:

The very early drum kits often had glorious painted designs on the bass drum head - look at this:

Also the Hi-Hat as we know it today hadn't been invented - the first indication that the left foot (if you were right handed) was to be used was when the LOW BOY was produced:

The Leedy Drum Company 

Love this Slingerland Snare Drum

1920's Ludwig Gold Snare

One of the very first "star' players was WARREN 'BABY' DODDS who played with Louis Armstrong and was a massive influence on the young drummers of the time - his work is still a reference point of great playing even today: - modern drummers please note Baby Dodds is not using hi-hat!

Another photo of the great BABY DODDS: Love the large bass drum

At that time (1920's and 30's) another great player was massively influential ZUTTY SINGLETON who also played with Louis Armstrong:

See the development of the drum stool!! Zutty sitting on a wooden chair plus a drawer to make it higher...

TONY SPARGO in 1917 and onwards was blowing up a storm with the ORIGINAL DIXIELAND JAZZ BAND:

Whilst Zutty Singleton, Baby Dodds and players like Tubby Hall and Minor Hall were rocking New Orleans and later Chicago - three youngsters in Chicago still at school were due to explode on the jazz scene GENE KRUPA, GEORGE WETTLING and DAVE TOUGH 

The above photo is of Dave Tough playing with bass player Chubby Jackson with the famous Woody Herman Band - check out on YouTube the recording of "Apple Honey" with the Woody Herman Band and hear Davey and Chubby rock that big band...Note the two small toms - the kits were getting bigger!

GEORGE WETTLING became a top TV session player but was also recognised as a leading exponent of jazz - working with Eddie Condon, Paul Whiteman and a host of others - Here is a photo of George Wettling playing in London at the Royal Festival Hall:

The color bar was one of America's great shame and disgrace and sadly even today all over the world people are judged by their color, race and creed - it seems the human race never learns anything - however, jazz musicians time and again in the 1930's and 40's broke the color bar and worked together with respect and love - it wasn't always easy Benny Goodman worked with Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson - the great Trumpet star Roy Eldridge worked the Gene Krupa Band but found it so hard on the road when not allowed into hotels and restaurants and yet was a big star on stage - here is a photo of Gene and Roy in action:

Players such as the wonderful BIG SID CATLETT were truly sensational - Big Sid died much too young but this gentle giant was a massive influence on the next generation of players - BIG SID with LOUIS ARMSTRONG:

Two more photos of the great BIG SIDNEY CATLETT:

SONNY GREER (below) guided and propelled the great DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA to the musical heights - I love his kit and the wealth of percussion - Ideal for a trio gig!!

At the same time that Sonny Greer was with Ellington in the 1930's a player emerged that revolutionised the use of playing the hit-hat and the easy but driving swing of the great Count Basie Orchestra - his name was JO JONES - affectionally known as PAPA JO JONES - a true genius of the drums

Here are 4 photos of Papa Jo and his kits:

RAY BAUDUC was a drummer who worked with many of the big bands but was known as a star of Dixieland playing - love the bass drum head - also note - no Hi-Hat!:

Ray Bauduc has a hit recording with bass player Bob Haggart called "Big Noise from Winnetka"

IN 1939 a brash young kid drummer sat in with Joe Marsala's band in New York City and blew everyone away - his name BUDDY RICH - here he is playing his Ludwig Kit :

BUDDY RICH became known as probably the greatest drummer that ever played on a stage - phenomenal technique and an ability to blow just anyone off a stage - acerbic, opinionated, difficult but incredibly kind, hugely professional and simply brilliant - Buddy in action:

Buddy on Slingerland Drums

Ludwig Drums

Buddy and his great Slingerland Kit

Buddy playing Rogers Drums - In his long playing career Buddy played Ludwig Drums, Rogers Drums and Slingerland Drums and very briefly VOX which was made by Trixon Drums in Germany - to my knowledge Buddy never played on Gretsch or Leedy drums unless he was sitting in. 

Buddy playing the VOX kit

In the 1940's another generation of players emerged - and a number of schools developed - players like RAY McKINLEY, BUZZY DROOTIN, MOREY FELD, JIMMY CRAWFORD, GUS JOHNSON, KANSAS FIELDS, KAISER MARSHALL, TINY KAHN, CLIFF LEEMAN, JACK SPERLING, SONNY PAYNE, DON LAMOND and the great LOUIE BELLSON (following in the footstep of GENE KRUPA and BUDDY RICH) were taking drums and drumming to new levels -  but there was also the emergence of the BE-BOP revolution that took the centre of drumming away from the bass drum and hi-hat onto the ride cymbal - KENNY 'KLOOK' CLARKE was at the epicentre of this revolution - MAX ROACH, ART BLAKEY, PHILLY JOE JONES, ART TAYLOR, SHADOW WILSON, CHARLIE PERSIP, BEN RILEY, JIMMY COBB, LOUIS HAYES, BILLY HIGGINS, CHICO HAMILTON to name a few were breaking all the musical barriers - it is hard to put these players into any specific category because as BUDDY RICH famously said "there is no such thing as a rock drummer or a jazz drummer" a drummer should be able to play in all musical circumstances. However, players often became known for specific styles of playing - SHELLY MANNE lead the "West Coast" style but of course could play in any style from kicking the great Stan Kenton Band to becoming one of the Hollywood's top session players. FRANK BUTLER another great West Coast player died much too young - whilst DANNY RICHMOND was tearing up the jazz clubs with the angry, growling bass player and composer CHARLES MINGUS. 

Ray McKinley on his Slingerland Kit - note the two small toms and the inverted Chinese Cymbal - this was the period before the ride cymbal emerged largely in the mid forties as part of the Be-Bop revolution

Frank Butler with Curtis Counce

Art Taylor and his Bop Gretsch Kit - the bass drums were getting much smaller - intact everything was getting smaller - 12" and 14" Toms instead of the standard 13" and 16" - Bass drums were getting down to 18" from the larger Swing Era Bass Drums of 24", 26" and 28"

The jazz historian will say I have missed out many great names - well there is only so much space for photos and names that I can fit into this blog - but I hope this article will create enough interest for the reader to explore more - here are some of the greats starting with LOUIE BELLSON (whose recording of SKIN DEEP with the Duke Ellington Orchestra is one of the finest drum solo's ever - get hold of this recording made in 1951/52 - it is on the Duke Ellington "Ellington Uptown" Album and every student of drumming must listen and study this solo. (Louie always preferred his name spelt with an E not written as Louis) - the drum kit was getting bigger - TWO BASS DRUMS - it is said that Ray McKinley first played with two bass drums but it was Louie who is credited with developing this. 

JACK SPERLING ROCKED THE LES BROWN BAND:

TINY KAHN was a marvellous player but sadly died too young

SHELLY MANNE became the WEST COAST STAR PLAYER both as a great jazz musician and in the recording studios - Shelly won many DOWNBEAT AWARDS as best drummer - and founder of his jazz club the MANNE HOLE - a wonderful player:

KENNY 'KLOOK" CLARKE started the BOP revolution and won the admiration of a whole generation of players up until today - here he is with DIZZY GILLESPIE:

Kenny in his living room

MAX ROACH was anther superb player who led the way and is recognised as one of the fathers of modern jazz drumming:

ART BLAKEY BECAME THE GREAT JAZZ MESSENGER - the bass drums were getting smaller and the ride cymbal more important - the beat had gone from the snare drum press rolls, bass drum beats four to the bar and hi-hat riding - the kit and playing styles were changing 

We can't feature every great player in this blog but here are two of the greats that worked with artists such as MILES DAVIS: The first JIMMY COBB ( the drummer on the seminal album by Miles KIND OF BLUE)  - notice the big ride cymbal:

PHILLY JOE JONES:

In the 1950's and 60's the world of drumming was changing dramatically with the advent of rock n'roll - but during this period the drum kit did not change significantly: The jazz drummers were still getting hit recordings COZY COLE Had a nationwide hit with TOPSY - And a sensational drummer was emerging with the DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET with TAKE FIVE - JOE MORELLO one of the all time greats:

COZY COLE IN ACTION:

JOE MORELLO blew everyone away with his solo on TAKE FIVE on his iconic Ludwig Drum Kit and his playing with the DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET:

Joe Morello with the great Dave Brubeck Quartet

ELVIN JONES WAS REVOLUTIONISING DRUMMING WITH HIS INCREDIBLE STYLE AND TECHNIQUE WITH JOHN COLTRANE CULMINATING WITH "A LOVE SUPREME"

SONNY PAYNE WAS CREATING A STORM WITH THE COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA - PHENOMENAL PLAYER AND SOLOIST;

No blog about drums and drumming could ignore the influence of a young 17 year old player who joined the MILES DAVIS QUINTET and played like no-one else - the wonderful and inspirational TONY WILLIAMS:

HOWEVER THINGS WERE CHANGING - DJ FONTANA WAS ROCKING WITH ELVIS PRESLEY - SANDY NELSON WAS CRACKING THE CHARTS WITH "LET THERE BE DRUMS" - PANAMA FRANCIS WAS ROCKING THE STUDIOS - HAL BLAINE BECAME BOSS OF THE WRECKING CREW - BERNARD PURDIE WAS LAYING DOWN NEW FUNKIE BEATS - THE DRUM KITS WERE GETTING BIGGER - BUT NOTHING TOO REVOLUTIONARY WAS HAPPENING KIT WISE - THE DOUBLE BASS DRUM PEDDLE - MORE AND MORE TOM TOMS APPEARED - BUT THE SNARE DRUM, HI-HAT, THE STANDS AND HARDWARE REMAINED LARGELY THE SAME - HOWEVER THE KITS WERE GETTING STRONGER

DJ FONTANA WITH ELVIS:

SANDY NELSON - LET THERE BE DRUMS:

HAL BLAINE - BOSS OF THE WRECKING CREW - AND HIS MONSTER KIT:

RON TUTT WAS PLAYING WITH ELVIS AND NEIL DIAMOND AMONGST OTHERS:

A JAZZER TO THE END - BUT DON LAMOND STILL ROCKED BOBBY DARIN TO THE TOP OF THE CHARTS WITH 'BEYOND THE SEA', 'MACK THE KNIFE' AND OTHERS

THE DRUM KIT WAS EXPANDING TWO OR THREE SMALL TOMS WERE APPEARING AND TWO BASS DRUMS BECAME MORE VISIBLE ON THE STAGES AROUND THE WORLD - BUT A CLASSIC 4 DRUM LUDWIG KIT HIT THE HEADLINES WHEN THE BEATLES STUNNED THE WORLD WITH A BLAST OF HITS - RINGO STAR MUST HAVE SOLD A MILLION LUDWIG KITS JUST AS GENE KRUPA THIRTY YEARS EARLIER HAD LAUNCHED A MILLION SLINGERLAND DRUM KITS

SANDY NELSON topped the charts with Let there be Drums and influenced a lot of young players

KEITH MOON was influenced by GENE KRUPA'S showmanship and thrilled audiences with THE WHO - MAYBE THE DRUMMING WASN'T THAT GREAT BUT THE CROWDS LOVED HIM AND HIS ANTICS

Previously before the BEATLES arrived JERRY ALLISON had knocked us all out with his fast paradiddles with BUDDY HOLLY and the CRICKETS on PEGGY SUE and PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED:

BERNARD PURDIE was laying down a much more modern and unique beat:

Back into the jazz scene - BILLY COBHAM was creating waves and the kit just got bigger:

IN 1963 JAKE HANNA was blowing everyone away with his playing with the WOODY HERMAN BAND - the rock scene was booming but so was jazz:

MASTER DRUMMER MEL LEWIS WITH THAD JONES WERE STORMING AWAY EVERY MONDAY AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD IN NEW YORK

I'm running out of space - so many players to include but no time or space left -  JEFF HAMILTON with DIANA KRALL is superb. Many British players emerged including JACK PARNELL, RONNIE VERRELL (THE DRUMS BEHIND ANIMAL famously seen on TV with THE DRUM BATTLE WITH BUDDY RICH ON THE MUPPETS SHOW),  PHIL SEAMAN, ALAN GANLEY, TONY CROMBIE, MARTIN DREW WITH OSCAR PETERSON TO NAME A FEW - MENTIONING OSCAR PETERSON - HIS DRUMMERS ED THIGPEN AND BOBBY DURHAM WERE SUPERB 

ED THIGPEN & BOBBY DURHAM:

ED SHAUGHNESSY WAS CREATING EXCITEMENT EVERY NIGHT ON JOHNNY CARSON'S TONIGHT SHOW:

The great ROY HAYNES is still thrilling audiences today - born in 1925

Roy Haynes with Pat Metheny

Still Swinging

MODERN HEROES INCLUDE 

VINNIE COLAIUTA SEEN HERE WITH STING:

Vinnie and his Ludwig Snare Drum

STEVE GADD - WHO LAID DOWN THE BEST GROOVES YOU'VE EVER HEARD:

Steve Gadd with Eric Clapton

STEVE SMITH:

DAVE WECKLE:

PETER ERSKINE:

MITCH MITCHELL WITH JIMMY HENDRICKS:

Mitch sadly passed away much too young

THE ROCKERS INCLUDED PLAYERS SUCH AS NEIL PEART:

DAVE GROHL:

IAN PAICE:

STEWART COPELAND:

SIMON PHILLIPS - a great player: - great technique

JOHN BONHAM:

JOHN HISEMAN:

THE GIRLS WERE THERE TOO - Great funky players like CINDY BLACKMAN and TERRY LYNE CARRINGTON:

Don't forget Sheila E:

OK that's about it - I've run out of space - yes there are players I have missed out because of lack of space - drummers like the great BUTCH MILES with Count Basie, FRANKIE CAPP IN LOS ANGELES, CHICO HAMILTON AND HIS UNIQUE PLAYING and SINGLE HEADED TOMS, DENNIS CHAMBERS with SANTANA, PHIL COLLINS with GENESIS....the list goes on - but the question is "did the drum kit change that much" and the answer is that from 1936 when Gene Krupa and Slingerland drums created the double headed and tuneable tom toms there hasn't really been any significant developments since then - you may say that is a wildly inaccurate statement - look at today's drum kits with double bass drum pedals, electronic drums, drums of all shapes and sizes and yet the great players can say it all on the four drum set up - Yes many great drum maker names have gone from us like SLINGERLAND, CAMCO & LEEDY - LUDWIG and GRETSCH still remain but names like PEARL, YAMAHA, TAMA and DW DRUMS dominated the last decades - many new independent and small manufacturers have emerged, which is great - the cymbals have evolved but AVEDIS and K ZILDJIAN still produce wonderful cymbals - as do ISTANBUL, PAISTE, BOSPHORUS, SABIAN and many others - some of you may challenge my assessment - but this piece reflects my own personal opinions!

I hope you have enjoyed this journey - it is by no means a complete story, in fact only a potted history  with many gaps,  but its been fun and if you're really into it I hope these names and photos have started you on your way to discovery of the wonderful world of drumming... 

THANKS FOR READING

PETER