Buddy Rich

Cafe Society
1

'Hey folks!

My son (aged 12) asked me to name who might be considered “the best drummer of all time”.

I thought about it a bit, and for some reason blurted out “Buddy Rich”.

Nanoseconds after giving him this answer, I realized that:

1- I do not own any of Mr. Rich’s recordings.

2- I cannot for the life of me provide my son with any song titles that would showcase his talents.

I’m old enough to recall seeing him perform on Ed Sullivan’s show way back when, but I’d really like to be able to back up my claim with some examples of his talent.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Ook

2

I would suggest starting at the Buddy Rich Website, where you can listen to examples of his drumming, learn about his biography, music and career highlights.

Buddy Rich was certainly among the greatest drummers ever.

3

Thank you Fear! Athough I had checked out that site prior to posting, I had not bothered to click on the Multimedia link.

Downloading the Real One player was well worth it!

Kind regards,

Ookpik

4

Eh, slight hijack, and more belonging of IMHO, but what the hell.

While I completely concur Buddy Rich is an amazing drummer, do check out some of Neil Peart’s (Rush’s drummer) work. It really is amazing stuff.

5

…and as this thread moves closer to Cafe Society, I’d like to chime in and say that Danny Carey of Tool and Vinnie Colaiuta of many different bands including Frank Zappa’s are the two greatest drummers in the world.

YMMV

6

Buddy Rich is also famous for his personal charm. Check out the evidence here and here. :wink:

7

I’ve always been amused by the fact that the spoonerism for Buddy Rich is Ruddy Bitch.

8

There is no greatest. You’re gonna leave out Louis Bellson? Bonzo? Too many more to name?

How do you measure great drumming anyway? Creativity? Adaptation to the rest of the music? Pure whiz-bang (Ah, Ginger, where are you now?)?

I went to see a cabaret singer tonight and the drummer was a hired pro - technically superb, but not terribly exciting.

9

As a drummer, I must say that, Buddy Rich is a legend, Neil Peart is overrated because of his popularity ( although he is still one of my favorites), and there is no such thing as the world’s greatest drummer. One could submit John Bonham, Stewart Copeland, Steve Gadd, Dave Weckl…and one would still fall short. There IS NO Greatest ANYTHING as far as music is concerned…that’s the point of creativity… Just as there is no BEST poet, there can be no best drummer! Everyone has their favorites, and that’s fine, leave it at that! IMHO Akira Jimbo is the best drummer, but that’s MY opinion!! Some may say that Luie Bellson or Max Roach was the best, but all are agreed that Buddy Rich, although arguably the world’s greatest drummer, was a mysoginistic, manipulative, power-hungry bastard of a human being, and an a**hole to boot. Those that disagree, should talk to someone that knew him. Nuff’ said.

10

He’s popular because he’s a great drummer (well, and he’s a great lyricist).

11

Dave Grohl.

Just because I like him, he’s the bestest.

12

Gene Krupa?

13

Thanks, ubermensch, I was wondering if anyone was going to mention Mr. Krupa.

14

You can see a bit of Buddy Rich in the movie “The Great Morgan,” in which he drums it up to the ever-emotive and expressive Virginia O’Brien, as she sings about her bad luck with “band people.”

15

What about Billy Cobham?

16

Off to the Cafe.

17

I remember when I was a kid and they showed a clip of Buddy Rich on TV. I had no idea who this guy was, but my dad got all excited and said, “Hey, watch this! You’re going to remember it!” And I did.

18

Krupa was the answer to the trivia question when I was a kid “who was the greatest drummer ever?” Rich was incomparable in his time. Since the explosion of the rock era however, “greatest of all time” is purely a matter of taste. These days acoustic marvels abound.

19

Joe Morello? Shelly Manne?

I was lucky to see Dizzy Gillespie in concert not long before his passing and the drummer (Omar Hakim, I think) was unbelievable.

Buddy Rich was lightning fast and led a decent band, and it’s hard to drop him off a list of the best x-number of drummers.

But best?

20

Cool link, thanks!

Actual jazz world anecdote:

Buddy Rich died in 1987.

A day after his death, a musician who had played for Buddy called his home and spoke with his wife. “Is Buddy home?” the man asked.

“Buddy is dead,” his wife answered.

The next day the man called again. “May I speak with Buddy?” he asked.

Again, his wife repeated “Buddy is dead.”

The next day he called again. “Is Buddy in?”

His wife, now clearly annoyed, barked back, “This is the third time you’ve called asking for my late husband. Buddy is dead!”

“I know,” said the man. “I just like hearing it.”