I've seen most of them and by far the two that stand out are Neil Peart of Rush and Ceasar Z. of Golden Earring. For non-rock I would say it's a no brainer with Buddy Rich.
Weim boy, I doubt that you would make the Buddy Rich comment if you had ever seen him perform. Did you ever see him perform? Without any doubt, Rich was and will forever be the greatest. Simply untouchable!!!
For the most part the previous posts hit the nail on the head. There are so many great ones that everyone's going to have an opinion like belly buttons. Alan White (Yes) over Bruford, Copeland; Peart is incredible and plays like the Flash; Hendrix's band mate Mitch Mitchell; don't forget Buddy Miles; Bonham was awesome too. I think we tend to pick the drummers from bands we've listened to over the years. But there are many great drummers that I'm just not familiar with because I didn't listen to the particular group at all or enough. I grew up on groups like Yes, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Chicago, Santana, Pink Floyd, and later the Police and Rush. As much as I loved Chicago, I can't even remember their drummers name.
I have seen several percusionists over the years. Neil Peart continues to showcase his talent. Carl Palmer is excellent as well. Stewart Copeland works in varied styles. I agree Buddy Rich was one of the first drummers to perform like no other back in the day. Go to Drummerworld.com to view footage of the greatest drummers from Jazz to Rock.
this thread was just worked over on my motorcycle bullitan board (R1100s)
a ranking by gigital dream door follows:
(BTW I do not think that Buddy Rich is a non-rock no brainer. Not with cats like Elvin Jones about.
1. Neil Peart (Rush) 2. John Bonham* (Led Zeppelin) 3. Carl Palmer (ELP) 4. Keith Moon* (The Who) 5. Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa) 6. Ginger Baker (Cream) 7. Hal Blaine (Session man) 8. Danny Carey (Tool) 9. Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) 10. Earl Palmer (Session man) 11. Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) 12. Dave Lombardo (Slayer) 13. Benny Benjamin* (Funk Brothers) 14. Ian Paice (Deep Purple) 15. Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge) 16. Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Osbourne) 17. Stewart Copeland (The Police) 18. Bernard Purdie (Session) 19. Vinnie Colaiuta (Zappa) 20. Jeff Porcaro* (Toto) 21. Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) 22. David Garabaldi (Tower Of Power) 23. Ainsley Dunbar (Jeff Beck) 24. Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) 25. Mike Shrieve (Santana) 26. Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix) 27. Steve Smith (Journey) 28. Al Jackson* (The MGs) 29. Matt Cameron (Soundgarden) 30. Tim Alexander (Primus) 31. Jim Keltner (Session man) 32. Phil Collins (Genesis) 33. Cozy Powell* (Rainbow) 34. Simon Phillips (Toto) 35. Russ Kunkel (Session man) 36. Bobby Jarzombeck (Rob Halford) 37. Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews) 38. Zigaboo Modeliste (The Meters) 39. Jimmy Chamberlain (Smashing Pumpkins) 40. Vinnie Paul (Pantera) 41. Kenny Aronoff (Session man) 42. Alan White (Yes) 43. Mike Giles (King Crimson) 44. Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs) 45. Clive Bunker (Jethro Tull) 46. Mike Mangini (Extreme) 47. Ringo Starr (The Beatles) 48. Roger Hawkins (Arethra Franklin/Session Man) 49. Bobby Elliot (The Hollies) 50. Alex Van Halen (Van Halen) 51. BJ Wilson* Procul Harum) 52. Joe Franco (Good Rats) 53. Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones) 54. Virgil Donati (Planet X) 55. Roger Taylor (Queen) 56. Chad Wackerman (Zappa) 57. Topper Headon (The Clash) 58. Nick Barker (Dimmu Borgir) 59. Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac) 60. Danny Seraphine (Chicago) 61. Gene Holgan (Death) 62. John Densmore (The Doors) 63. Max Weinberg (Springsteen) 64. Jabo Starks (James Brown) 65. Lars Ulrich (Metallica) 66. Jerry Allison (Crickets) 67. Phil Ehart (Kansas) 68. Chester Thompson (Santana) 69. Matt McDonoughe (Mudvayne) 70. Dean Castronovo (Journey) 71. Jon Theodore (Mars Volta) 72. Van Romaine (Steve Morse) 73. Ralph Humphrey (Mothers Of Invention) 74. Les Lester (Los Straightjackets) 75. Brian Downey (Thin Lizzy) 76. Brann Dailor (Mastodon) 77. Dick Richards (The Comets) 78. Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle) 79. Stanton Moore (Galactic) 80. Joey Jordison (Slipknot) 81. Ron Wilson (Surfaris) 82. Jack Irons (Pearl Jam) 83. Jim Gordon (Derek And The Dominoes) 84. Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) 85. Eddie Bayers (Session man) 86. Jeff Campitelli (Joe Satriani) 87. Dave Grohl (Nirvana) 88. Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow) 89. Chris Frantz (Talking Heads) 90. Mike Bordin (Faith No More) 91. Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) 92. Lee Kerslake (Uriah Heep) 93. Phil Selway (Radiohead) 94. Vinnie Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio) 95. Scott Rockenfield (Queensryche) 96. Chad Smith (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) 97. Nick Menza (Megadeth) 98. John Dalmayan (System Of A Down) 99. Travis Barker (Blink 182) 100. Ralph Salmins (Session man)
copeland and baker are percussionists, ringo and charlie Watts are drummers.......best 'unsung' rock drummers ever...Don Stevenson (MOBY GRAPE) and Mitch Mitchell
No one touches Keith Moon. He didn't even pay attention to the great things he was doing. Of course, after seeing Terry Bozio w/Zappa and Missing Persons, he deserves a strong second place. And don't forget Chad Wackerman who at age 3 was already playing with Zappa.
For shear greatness the first one that comes to mind is Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I remember sitting in the Chicago Stadium, on concert night, waiting for the show to start when an obviously tortured soul screemed "Palmer!!!!". I speculated this was another drummer who could not duplicate C.P.'s licks.
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