On the Kalahari you don’t have to be the fastest Wildebeest you only have to be faster than the slowest one. Same with drummers, as long as the drummer fits the group, he’s golden. With that criterion in mind there’s been a bunch of terrific drummers. AND they probably aren’t interchangeable.
HAIL TO THE KING..GINGER BAKER
Several posts have already started on the recent death of the greatest drummer in history, Ginger Baker. Some may dispute that but I don't give a damn about other opinions on Baker. Why was he the King of drums? Very simple to answer.
Their are a lot of great drummer's such as Neal Peart and Buddy Rich who have/had great rudiment and technical skills.
Perfect rolls on the snare, high speed chops up and down the toms, and a lot of crashing on the cymbals. Same old style over and over from a variety of drummers. Zzzzzzzz...wake me when its over. During the 1950's jazz drummer Louie Bellson used two bass drums which inspired Baker in the early 60's to use two bass drums when he was with the Graham Bond Organization which included Jack Bruce at the time. When Ginger Baker was in his late teens, he was a professional bike racer who had extremely strong legs and competed in pro races on the tracks in England. He invented a whole new style of drumming that was a game changer in the world of music by blending African rhythms, jazz rudiments and rock and roll techniques into a whole new style never achieved by anyone else. He played each drum as a musical note like the keys on a piano, blending patterns into rolling harmony's just like a song. Combine that with the fastest legs on two bass drums in history. Listen to Toad on the Wheels of Fire album, which is Bakers' greatest solo in history, and the speed of his legs are so fast towards the end of the solo that his bass rolls sound like two high speed trains competing with each other. Many years ago, the drummer of the Grateful Dead, Mickey Hart, said this.." When Cream came to America they were like Vikings taking heads. " Also, a statement by Jack Bruce in a interview in 1991,
" What we achieved as the Cream can never be bettered by anyone. " Hail to the King of Drums.
Their are a lot of great drummer's such as Neal Peart and Buddy Rich who have/had great rudiment and technical skills.
Perfect rolls on the snare, high speed chops up and down the toms, and a lot of crashing on the cymbals. Same old style over and over from a variety of drummers. Zzzzzzzz...wake me when its over. During the 1950's jazz drummer Louie Bellson used two bass drums which inspired Baker in the early 60's to use two bass drums when he was with the Graham Bond Organization which included Jack Bruce at the time. When Ginger Baker was in his late teens, he was a professional bike racer who had extremely strong legs and competed in pro races on the tracks in England. He invented a whole new style of drumming that was a game changer in the world of music by blending African rhythms, jazz rudiments and rock and roll techniques into a whole new style never achieved by anyone else. He played each drum as a musical note like the keys on a piano, blending patterns into rolling harmony's just like a song. Combine that with the fastest legs on two bass drums in history. Listen to Toad on the Wheels of Fire album, which is Bakers' greatest solo in history, and the speed of his legs are so fast towards the end of the solo that his bass rolls sound like two high speed trains competing with each other. Many years ago, the drummer of the Grateful Dead, Mickey Hart, said this.." When Cream came to America they were like Vikings taking heads. " Also, a statement by Jack Bruce in a interview in 1991,
" What we achieved as the Cream can never be bettered by anyone. " Hail to the King of Drums.