My Favorite Drummers

This is my top ten favorite drummers…I’m sure I’m going to leave some great ones out. Like guitarists, I like drummers with feel more than technique. Anyone who has read this blog knows who my number 1 is without question…

1…Keith Moon, The Who – It’s hard if not impossible to copy this man’s drumming style. He changed the Who completely and was their engine. I’m not a drummer so I really never cared like some drummers do if he played by the rules in drumming…Was he disciplined? No, but it worked well for him and for the songs. Songs like Bargain and Goin’ Mobile are great examples of Keith.

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2…John Bonham, Led Zeppelin – Without Bonham, there is no Led Zeppelin as we know them. He was the ultimate groove drummer. He was a bricklayer and had hard hands and hit the drums incredibly hard but with a light touch also.

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3…Levon Helm, The Band – Not only was he a great drummer but also a soulful singer. He brought something many drummers didn’t… a bit of the old south.

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4…Charlie Watts, Rolling Stones – Charlie and Ringo made their respective groups swing. Charlie can play blues, rock, big band, and jazz. Charlie and his rhythm section partner Bill Wyman were overlooked being in the same band with Mick and Keith. On top of his drumming skills…Charlie grounds the band much like Ringo did for the Beatles.

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5…Ringo Starr, The Beatles – He was not Moon or Bonham in flash but he played exactly what was needed…He could have gone overboard and the songs would have suffered. He played for the song. Some have called him the human metronome. I cannot imagine any other drummer for The Beatles. His tom tom work on Sgt Pepper alone is excellent.

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6…Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix Experience – Any holes left in Jimi’s music would be quickly filled in by Mitch. He was a jazz drummer who fused it into rock.

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7…Ginger Baker, Cream – If this was a list of “likable people” Ginger would not be in the top 1000 but his drumming was some of the best of the sixties and I’m sure he would say “ever”… He was as big of part of Cream’s sound as Clapton or Bruce.

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8…Bobby Elliot, Hollies – Drummer from the Hollies that other drummers have admired. He hit the drums hard and his fills were great… He is often overlooked but he is always spot on.

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9…Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Nirvana – He can play anything… He fuels those Nirvana songs…and is really great at whatever instrument he plays.

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10…Clem Burke, Blondie – An exciting drummer that was heavily influenced by number 1 on this list. He has played with Pete Townshend, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, and David Bowie.

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Honorable Mention

Gene Krupa, Buddy Miles, Mick Fleetwood, Max Weinberg, “D.J.” Fontana, Benny Benjamin, Stewart Copeland, and Hal Blaine.

Yes, I know… No Neil Peart…yes he is a great drummer…just not my style of music.

 

 

 

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

44 thoughts on “My Favorite Drummers”

    1. Oh Palmer is great. I don’t listen a lot to ELP…that is the only reason he is not on my list here. He plays more of progressive rock….and all of those guys in that band are great…. It’s like Rush and YES…they are great musicians.

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  3. Enjoyed the list. #1 is my sentimental fave, tied with Ringo. I’m also gaining a soft spot for Ginger Baker, thanks to his Facebook page. Charlie Watts is amazing for staying consistent and avoiding the drama.

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    1. I’ll have to check out Ginger Baker’s page. I’ve heard horror stories about him on top of “Beware of Mr. Baker”… Great drummer though.

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      2. When he shoved that cane…I lost it lol.
        I just don’t understand why he hated Jack so much. I loved the documentary.

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      4. I just saw his facebook page…it was pretty cool thanks for telling me.

        I know why Eric wanted out…being between those two. It really is a shame.

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      3. Yes just not my kind of music either…what was the old classic they did a few years ago? I am thinking it was a Chuck Berry cover or something on that order- if they had said this was a group from Neptune covering Chuck I would have believed it- a terrible cover. Just not their style.

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      4. They are just not very adaptable. They are who they are with Lee’s voice. I cannot for the life of me remember what the song was..

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    1. You know that would be perfect because tomorrow I’m doing bass players the following day singers and Tuesday I will do that If you are not planning to.

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      1. No that would be awesome. I was in the car earlier today thinking of your guitarist list and thought- I wonder what his songwriter list would look like!

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      2. Thanks for your help…that will the best one… I’m already thinking about it… would you separate Lennon and McCartney after you list them as a team? Or for that case any other team?

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      3. I don’t see why they couldn’t be listed separately- as in their solo careers. sure. same with any other team.. I just listened to Rush covering Not Fade Away… oh my.

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  7. Good list…tough to argue against any of them. I would get Peart in there, & Fleetwood whom you mentioned. Grohl is my fave ‘modern’ one, i liked Don Henley’s a lot too, believe it or not-rather understated style for lack of a better word

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    1. Henley is a very good drummer… Shame on me but I think of him so much as a singer… I was telling Hans….I like the individuals of Rush…great guys and the bio of them is great. I just never listen to them much…all great musicians though.

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  8. Listen to him in Asia. I saw him with Asia, live, in Austin. F****** awesome.

    Clem Burke made my head spin on ‘Dreamin”.

    Wasn’t Moon on the autism spectrum?

    Karen Carpenter. Fred LeBlanc. Rick Allen. Prairie Prince.

    Have you ever seen Steve Moore, The Mad Drummer?

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    1. Moon was a one off person…he could notbe embarassed. A book about him said he proabably had a borderline personality disorder. His drumming was one of a kind…Very funny person, loved fans and destroyed his share and everyone elses share of hotel rooms…sorry I’m a Moon fanatic.

      Palmer was great…Dang I forgot he was in Asia….All those progressive rocks guys are really good. These lists are hard because they are so subjective…for instance…I know Neil Peart is great technically…

      YES I have seen him in videos…the last one playing Brown Eyed Girl…he is entertaining to say the least.

      Fred LeBlanc is in a modern band isn’t he?

      I always listened to music older than what I was… Discovered the Beatles in 2nd grade and always liked 60s and 70s bands. I was in a band in the 1980s band that didn’t play 80s music lol.

      I remember Praire Prince…he was with the Tubes for a while.

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  9. LeBlanc is Cowboy Mouth’s lead singer. Been around since 1990…same age as Pearl Jam.

    Prairie Prince is also Journey’s original drummer.

    I was always listening to my parents’ stuff. The first album I ever bought on my own was a Surf & Drag compilation of music older than I was. Heh.

    Many people love Moon. He was something.

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    1. I love surf music! Jan and Dean, Beach Boys, Dick Dale…I went through a phase where it was all I listened to for a while.

      I have heard of Cowboy Mouth…Jenny Says…we have a station here that will play them…. I didn’t know that about Prairie Prince. When I think of Journey I think of Steve Smith… I did see Greg Rollie their singer before Perry.

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  10. Have you heard of The Surfragettes?

    I learned a lot about Journey from a box set & a book that came with it. Aynsley Dunbar predates Smith.

    Robert Fleishman took over for a short time before Perry. He just didn’t have pipes.

    Gina Schock & Debbi Peterson are pretty badass, too. Ditto Sheila E.

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    1. You just made me a fan… what’s not to like? Cool tones on the guitar and good drumming. I will be listening to them tonight…thank you.
      I liked Greg Rollie’s voice…he also sang for Santana.

      I know all of those drummers. Go-Go’s and Bangles…I’m partial to the Bangles. Sheilia E is awesome.

      While searhing for Sweet Fox on the Run a few months back I ran across The Regrettes… check them out.

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  15. I’m going to give a shout out to a few not already mentioned (or only in passing) –

    Topper Headon of The Clash
    Aynsley Dunbar – Jeff Beck, David Bowie, John Mayall etc
    Martin Chambers of The Pretenders
    Rick Buckler of The Jam
    Steve White of The Style Council
    Ian Paice of Deep Purple
    Liberty De Vitto of The Bily Joel Band
    Nigel Olsson of The Elton John Band
    The great Paul Thompson of Roxy Music
    Sly Dunbar
    Carlton Barrett of The Wailers
    Maureen “Mo ” Tucker of The Velvet Underground
    John Coghlan of Status Quo
    Pete Thomas of the Attractions
    Roger Taylor of Queen
    Phil Collins of Genesis
    Artimus Pyle of Lynyrd Skynyrd (in there for his name too)
    Dolphin Taylor of The Tom Robinson Band
    Charley Charles of Ian Dury & The Blockheads
    Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols
    Rat Scabies of The Damned
    Budgie of Siouxsie & The Banshees
    Jet Black of the Stranglers
    The Big Figure of Dr. Feelgood

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    1. Sorry Paul…I missed this completely.
      That is a great list of drummers. I just read about Rat Scabies the other day but I don’t know much about him.

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