Twelve Drummers Drumming

A Rule of Three tribute to drummers.

Admittedly, Rule of Three does, at times, dabble in catchy headlines, puns and double entendres, purely for its own amusement (Rule No. 3, my friends). But, if you thought this column would be the first in a twelve-part series of Christmas-related pieces, riffing on the gifts featured in the classic Christmas carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” well sir, you are sadly mistaken. Besides, who could even surface enough information about eleven pipers, not to mention eight maids-a-milking? Sometimes, the thing is exactly as advertised. That’s right, this column intends to highlight the talents of twelve drummers. Or, thirteen, a baker’s dozen, if you make good on your passive-aggressive threat to provide a Christmas gift of a drum set to your ten-year-old nephew, because your brother pissed you off. Speaking of a baker’s dozen, I always thought the phrase grew out of the belief that bakers are generous souls, who always offered up an extra donut to customers, who purchased a dozen - well, if you thought that too, then you’re mistaken, as I was. No, the phrase “baker’s dozen” originated in medieval England, where bakers who sold a dozen loaves to retailers, provided an extra loaf, in order to avoid floggings, which would have been administered, had their loaves been deemed to be underweight. So, consider that gift of a drum set to your ten-year-old nephew a hedge against a potential flogging.

Thanks to the professional network maintained by my high school jazz band instructor, Phyliss Clendening, to whom Rule of Three paid tribute in a column published a couple of years ago (link to that column helpfully provided just below), I and my high school bandmates had the opportunity to perform with a couple of notable drummers: Louie Bellson and Bobby Rosengarden. That, and the eclectic nature of my own personal musical taste has engendered an appreciation for the art of drumming, as practiced by a variety of musicians.

Enough preamble - on with the show:

1. Buddy Rich - Buddy is pictured atop this column, doing his thing, likely in the 1970’s. Note the “BR” reflected on his bass drum - having your initials stamped on your instrument is a testament to your prowess (and, your ego). But, Buddy earned his stripes, performing early in his career with bands led by: Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie and Harry James, before leading his own big bands for years. Perhaps you can’t tell from the picture above, but Buddy had enormous lips, which makes we wonder why he didn’t naturally migrate to the trumpet (see: Maynard Ferguson). He also apparently feuded with Frank Sinatra, during their days with Tommy Dorsey - bold stroke, picking a fight with a guy like Sinatra, who knew a guy, who knew another guy, who would break your kneecaps. If you’ve never heard Buddy Rich’s classic big band recording of “West Side Story Medley,” do yourself a favor, and invest in the 10 minutes and 48 seconds required to do so - you’ll thank me later. . .

2. Gene Krupa - a contemporary of Buddy Rich’s, Krupa powered Benny Goodman’s band in the 1930’s, and he continued playing into the 1970’s. Krupa also had his initials stamped on his bass drum, so you know he was something.

3. Louie Bellson - we may as well introduce Mr. Bellson, because we alluded to him above. Louie was well-known for pioneering the use of two bass drums at the same time (hey, you’ve got two feet, right?) , and for being married to Pearl Bailey. I recall him being an accessible, engaging, nice guy, as we rehearsed with him, but the one thing I didn’t know about him was his real name (according to Wikipedia): “Luigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni” - now, that’s a mouthful, which would require more than the standard two initials on a bass drum - perhaps that’s why he had two bass drums.

4. Bobby Rosengarden - another featured performer with the New Trier East High School Jazz Band in the 1970’s (it probably says something about Phyliss Clendening that her old buddies were drummers), Rosengarden was a longtime studio musician, who spent a lot of years playing in The Tonight Show band - yeah, Doc Severinsen led the band, but Bobby was there too.

5. Steve Gadd - I’m including Gadd on this list, on the recommendation of my brother, who believes him to be among the greatest drummers of all time. Gadd was a longtime studio musician, whose list of performers with whom he has played would constitute about three times the number of mentions in Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” - in case that allusion was too obscure, I intended to say that Steve Gadd has played with a lot of musicians during his career. I would include him on this list purely for his work on Steely Dan’s “Aja” - truly masterful.

6. Billy Cobham - a key player in the jazz/fusion genre, which began in the late 1960’s, Cobham was an influential drummer, who played with Miles Davis, and a score of other luminaries.

7. Max Roach - an early bebop drummer, Roach played with Charlie Parker - enough said!

8. Keith Moon - drummer for The Who, until his untimely death in 1978, at age 32. Moon was as well-known for his self-destructive behavior as for his drum skills.

9. Joe Morello - Morello merits inclusion on this list for his ability to keep time, as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, in all those crazy time signatures Dave and Paul Desmond created in their extensive repertoire - one needs no excuse to cue-up their classic “Take Five” - enjoy. . .

And, the final three represent the real reason I set out to highlight drummers, in this case, drummers who became better known for reasons other than their drum skills:

10. Phil Collins - Collins was considered to be an excellent drummer, as he performed with the band, “Genesis,” but he entered another dimension, when Peter Gabriel left the band in 1975, and Collins ascended to become the lead singer of the group. He went on to conduct a long and prosperous solo career, becoming ubiquitous in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

11. Karen Carpenter - one-half of the brother/sister duo, “The Carpenters,” Karen was the drummer, who also sang a bit. She was credited with a three-octave vocal range, and her unique voice captivated fans. She increasingly stepped out from behind the drums to sing, leaving the drumming to others. She died tragically, from anorexia, at the age of 32, the same age at which Keith Moon died.

12. Ringo Starr - yes, Ringo is a drummer, but he was also a “Beatle,” which supersedes any other designation. Ringo was the goofy Beatle, I believe (Paul was the handsome one, George was the deep-thinking one, and John was the creative one). I’ve long considered Ringo’s drumming to be unimaginative and stale, but, lately I’ve come to realize that Ringo joined the Beatles in 1962, and rock ‘n’ roll drumming expectations were pretty minimal back then. I think he’s evolved somewhat, and I can respect his skills behind the drum set.

Well, that’s our list of “Twelve Drummers Drumming” - do you think we left anyone out? If not, then it’s on to conducting research for next week’s “Eleven Pipers Piping” column. I know I told you that wasn’t our intent, but I’m warming to the idea. Let’s see, there’s wrestling legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and, ummm. . .

If you’ve got further suggestions regarding memorable pipers, please share them with me.  And, it’s easy to share as a full-fledged subscriber to Rule of Three - click here to subscribe now.