TOP 20 drummers of all time!!

[racerxjj67]

[quote="Wait and See"]Chas Chandler was not Jimi Hendrix's drummer. He was the producer. Mitch Mitchell is who you're thinking of.[/quote]

You are correct. I was talking to guy at work just before I posted and we were talking about Hendrix's music and albums and that name got stuck in my head so I wrote it instead of Mitch's. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Spec A!]

You don't have to be 4-12yrs old to be a crazy good drummer. Have any of you seen this guy? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqbt6X4ZgEI

I love how precise and technical some of these super young drummers are, but like in Tony Royster Jr's case- he's a Neil Peart to me. Where's the soul? The feeling? And what's Tony up to these days? You'd think with all the attention he got and still gets for being so good so young, he'd be in some big famous band by now!

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I hate how many popular bands today have such crappy drummers that don't do much else than be in the backround. Being a musician can suck sometimes- makes me so critical and I can't appreciate 3/4's of anything out there!

[gloomboy]

1.) Stewart Copeland - my opinion has not changed on this one ever. The primary reason I started playing 20+ years ago.
2.) Jimmy Chamberlin - Smashing Pumpkins - simply insane hand speed and swings like crazy for a "rock" drummer
3.) Carter Beauford - DMB - Only guy in popular music who displaces notes like #1
4.) John Bonham - I almost want to say Bonham is underrated becasue while everybody likes to talk about his sheer power I rarely see a lot of appreciation for how subtle he could be. Plus - nobody played behind the beat like that guy.
5.) Mark Brzezecki - Big Country - IMHO among the best rudimental players ever - his work on The Cult's "Love" record was amazing.
6.) Matt Cameron - Soundgarden - makes 11/8 sound like 4/4. Great.
7.) Neil Peart - What he lacks in "feeling" me makes up for in compositional ability.
8.) Dave Grohl - I hate this guy - a consumate musician and can seemingly play *anything*.
9.) Budgie - Siouxsie & the Banshees - For the way he brought Tribal beats to modern music.
10.) Brann Dailor - Mastodon - Imagine Stewart Copeland at 78 speed and you get the idea.

Runners up: Keith Moon (The Who); Martin Chambers (Pretenders); Danny Carey (Tool); DJ Bonebrake (X); Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiciton); Tim Alexander (Primus)

[Spec A!]

Excellent list! I forgot about Stephen Perkins!

[GinaSuperCat]

Ya, I hear you surely--I just like to needle myself with these things--or with things like when Stewart says to Jools Holland in Montserrat, "drumming is easy...anyone can do this!" hahah

My instructor always told me that being a solo-virtuoso gets you the attention and is sweet and all, but time, tight groove, and showing up reliably get you the gig

That guy in the vid has groove out the azz and cool tricks

[blueseattle]

[quote="gloomboy"]1.) Stewart Copeland - my opinion has not changed on this one ever. The primary reason I started playing 20+ years ago.
2.) Jimmy Chamberlin - Smashing Pumpkins - simply insane hand speed and swings like crazy for a "rock" drummer
3.) Carter Beauford - DMB - Only guy in popular music who displaces notes like #1
4.) John Bonham - I almost want to say Bonham is underrated becasue while everybody likes to talk about his sheer power I rarely see a lot of appreciation for how subtle he could be. Plus - nobody played behind the beat like that guy.
5.) Mark Brzezecki - Big Country - IMHO among the best rudimental players ever - his work on The Cult's "Love" record was amazing.
6.) Matt Cameron - Soundgarden - makes 11/8 sound like 4/4. Great.
7.) Neil Peart - What he lacks in "feeling" me makes up for in compositional ability.
8.) Dave Grohl - I hate this guy - a consumate musician and can seemingly play *anything*.
9.) Budgie - Siouxsie & the Banshees - For the way he brought Tribal beats to modern music.
10.) Brann Dailor - Mastodon - Imagine Stewart Copeland at 78 speed and you get the idea.

Runners up: Keith Moon (The Who); Martin Chambers (Pretenders); Danny Carey (Tool); DJ Bonebrake (X); Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiciton); Tim Alexander (Primus)[/quote]

Sorry, as cliche as it sounds, but Moon has to be in the top 2 for me to believe the list. Moon is and always will be one of the best drummers if not the best drummer ever. I do like your addition of Jimmy Chamberlain. I was listening to "Cherub Rock" yesterday and remembered at the tail end of he just rips so hard. It's awesome.

[zilboy]

How could I forget Martin Chambers? It took me forever to figure out the intro to "Middle of the Road!" So seemingly simple, but...NOT!

And yeah, Bonzo - lots of brain behind all that brawn. Love those big, Wagnerian cymbal crashes and dark, roaring hi-hats.

[nathanarizona]

Chris Partridge of The Partridge Family.

[GinaSuperCat]

Re: Keith Moon--has to be there despite the technical quibbles for his sheer zeal, stones, and madness behind the kit--its infectious and rather uneblivable...he's inimitable...literally *irreproducible* in some parts

[gloomboy]

Re: Keith Moon - yeah-- that was a tough one. Don't get me wrong, "Live at Leeds" is my favorite live record EVER- there are moments during Young Man Blues where his hands must have literally been a blur, and "Sparks" is awe-inspiring. My problem with Moon was he was so damn inconsistent. As great as "Live at Leeds" is -- have you ever tried to listen to "Live at the Isle of Wight"? Holy cow - musta been completely out-of-his mind drunk. I also never really felt like their studio recordings were that great, with a few exceptions (Who's Next), etc....


Re: Martin Chambers - one of the reasons I admire him so much was their first record - quite a few odd meters (Tattooed Love Boys; The Phone Call, etc.) for what was basically a Punk Rock record. He had a similar ability IMHO like Matt Cameron to make tricky time signatures swing like 4/4.


At the end of the day - my list is *incredibly* subjective. There are a lot of drummers I admire, but whether or not I listen to them regularly is another matter. Buddy Rich is AMAZING, but I spend waay more time listening to Regatta De Blanc than his recordings.

My $.02

[Rusty James]

I'm probably going to sound like an old fart here but I can't find any mention of a fellow by the name of Louie Bellson. I had the honour of seeing him and Steve Smith, Dennis Chambers and a few others put on a clinic a few years ago. Bellson was a pioneer in developing the double bass drum technique and at 80 and ageless (older now) this guy has got some unbelievable chops! Being from The Great White North I have to mention Peart as he is a fixture of Canadian music. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen Rush in concert and I've never been disappointed. I couldn't rank any drummer in any particular order as there are too many to mention; some that don't appear on these pages. Being a huge fan of The Clash (after The Police of course!), Topper Headon is up there with Terry Chimes. I would not have been interested in drums and percussion without Stewart. He's the man and judging by the amount of fans he has on this site; he clearly has had a huge and positive impact on all of us. The count down is on friends........only a matter of weeks until I'm screaming my face off with thousands of fans!

[GinaSuperCat]

Bellson is truly a legend, really...his book on Odd Times remains a timeless standard...

[georgygirl]

I like John Paul Bonham, but to me Stewart still being the first...

[howardhughes]

You are right caligula.
Although there are loads of drummers listed here who i really rate and love to listen to.....but there are an awfull lot of real heavyweights missing.
As you say dennis chambers, lous bellson, not to mention buddy rich, Steve gadd, John Blackwell ( prince), tony williams, steve smith, billy cobham, terry bozzio, vinny coliuota and so on.
But...like yourself there would be no way id be the drum obsessive i am now without listening to Stewart (ok....and keith moon) from a very young age.

[howardhughes]

...oh yeah....who could forget Aled Jones........hehe.