Who are the greatest drummers of all time?

[jreelawg]

Check out the Royster.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPncumXZExo

I think it is kind of a difficult question to ask who is the best. There are those who play simple, and don't go too crazy, but make the song sound good. Then there are those who like to show off technical skills while butchering the song as a whole. There is technical skill, there is soul, there is creativity, etc. Just because someone can hit more drums per second doesn't make them better.

I think jazz drummers are the best drummers, although I don't really like jazz that much. Often jazz drummers are held back by slow boring songs. But, when a drummer incorperates
jazz drumming skill into metal/rock/alternative etc, then you've got something.

Here is an example of one of those drummers, maybe my favorite drummer? Martin Lopez who plays for the swedish metal band "Opeth".



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI8w_r9mvBw&feature=related

Learning to play jazz is in my opinion the door to being the best. With jazz, you learn 4 way independence, discipline, and dynamics. That is why, even though people who don't know much would like to diss jazz drumming, the jazz drummer is usually the most skilled.

 

[turbo]

Wow. You sure are passive turbo. I would have to , well show my bad side.

It's hard to fathom, dlg. People who claim that Hendrix was "making noise" seem to have no idea how his music evolved from his time with the Isley Brothers, nor do they seem to appreciate that he was one of the finest rhythm guitarists ever - let alone lead guitarists. Hendrix opened a lot of doors. I'm convinced that Clapton's present musical output would have been very different if it were not for Jimi. During his time with the Yardbirds, Mayall, and Cream, he favored fat-sounding humbucker-equipped Gibsons, yet his signature sound these days is that of a Stratocaster played through a simple amp modeled on the old Fender Tweeds. Like Jimi (who favored Strats played through Marshalls) he is willing to make some trade-offs in noise to get the tone he wants.

 

[rcgldr]

Jimi Hendrix ... like Jimi who favored Strats played through Marshalls.

A bit off topic bit of trivia here. Jimi played a right handed Strat, but strung it for left handed play. This reversed the string to pickup relationship, the base strings located over pickups meant for treble strings and vice versa, reversing whatever strategy Fender was implementing with the pickups.

I looked up Sandy Neslon on youtube, and was suprised to find a few hits. Although he's about 70 years old now, he's still playing. I recall seeing his name on the marque at some club a while back wondering if it was the same Sandy Nelson from the 1950's and 1960's, and apparently it was.

It's hard to say who "best drummer" is. I mentioned Sandy Nelson because he seemed to be the last of the popular drummer acts, marking the end of an era in music history (one that pre-dates when I started to listen to music myself).

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=677E32F08F03DFF7

Sandy from 48 to 70 years old:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmS5y4tZAAE&fmt=18

I recall seeing Buddy Rich and his band at Disneyland in the Carnation center quite a few years ago, playing swing music which was popular at the time. I recall the name Gene Krupa, but don't recall seing any movies of him until I did a recent search at youtube.

 

[Darkiekurdo]

Ginger Baker.

 

[bassplayer142]

Check out the Royster.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPncumXZExo

I think it is kind of a difficult question to ask who is the best. There are those who play simple, and don't go too crazy, but make the song sound good. Then there are those who like to show off technical skills while butchering the song as a whole. There is technical skill, there is soul, there is creativity, etc. Just because someone can hit more drums per second doesn't make them better.

I think jazz drummers are the best drummers, although I don't really like jazz that much. Often jazz drummers are held back by slow boring songs. But, when a drummer incorperates
jazz drumming skill into metal/rock/alternative etc, then you've got something.

Here is an example of one of those drummers, maybe my favorite drummer? Martin Lopez who plays for the swedish metal band "Opeth".



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI8w_r9mvBw&feature=related

Learning to play jazz is in my opinion the door to being the best. With jazz, you learn 4 way independence, discipline, and dynamics. That is why, even though people who don't know much would like to diss jazz drumming, the jazz drummer is usually the most skilled.

It's very true. Ask any old Rock drummer to play rudiments and they give you a blank stare.