Best Rock Drummers

Here's Charlie Watts' opinion. (Rolling Stones drummer, for those who don't know)

"Yeah. I would say learn to read music and listen to other people other than John Bonham. Now you’ve got totally the wrong impression about what I just said – I can see it in your face. [Leans forward and speaks carefully.] John Bonham is the best at being John Bonham and doing what he does. Or did – unfortunately, he’s dead. He was the best. There wasn’t anyone better than John like that, and thank goodness we’ve got some records so that you can hear it. But there are a lot of other people.

Ginger Baker was a much better drummer than John Bonham, if you really want to know about drumming. Ginger Baker is the best drummer to emigrate out of England. Really, Ginger is. And the guy who Ginger idolized – whatever the word was – we all did – was a guy called Phil Seaman. And Ginger learned everything off Phil. But Ginger can read, you know. Ginger’s not a foal. He can read music, he has wonderful chops, he has rudiments down. Having said all that, I don’t. So I would say to anyone – not only my offspring, but anyone – that’s what you should do, really. Otherwise, you’re locked into doing what I do. Which is fine. It worked for me."
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Loomis - I understand what you're saying about Bonham, but playing on the back of the beat without slowing down is the essence of the "heavy" sound. There's a distinction between playing on the back of the beat and dragging and it's hard to do the right way. Carmine Appice played that way on the Vanilla Fudge records, but not quite as extreme.

Bonham was the right drummer for Zep at that time. In another band, maybe it would have been different. I heard Mitch Mitchell in a band called Ramatam after Hendrix died and it sounded like shite.

Loomis - now that I think of it, I remember a record called Lord Sutch and His Heavy Friends. I think Bonham and Page both played on it, but it was horrible and Bonham definitely came off as ponderous. So it's a matter of compatibility as we all know. That was one of the worst records ever made.

I never paid much attention to him before, but I developed a newfound appreciation for Simon Phillips. Incredible musical ability, versatility and technique up the kazoo. I hate to compare, but for my money, for guys that play a big kit, I much prefer his playing to Peart’s. Not really fair because I hate Rush’s music.