# comedians and the "punch line drumstrike" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2001, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734 "2001-10-11T04:14:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MagicalSilverKey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MagicalSilverKey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicalSilverKey)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734/1 "2001-10-11T04:14:27Z")
What comedian, in history, has been credited with originating having someone in the background, to strike the drums when the punchline of the joke is delivered? Also the approximate year of origin would be interesting to know. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734/2 "2001-10-11T05:34:12Z")
It’s unlikely any comedian can be credited with that. BTW it’s referred to as a “rim shot” if you decide to do any searches. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734/3 "2001-10-11T06:15:05Z")
Oh, great idea, send someone out on the internet with search term “rim shot.” I’ll be over here, starting up the betting pool on how many porn sites the search returns. Minimum guess is 17,000. ---
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734/4 "2001-10-11T09:29:51Z")
Just a hunch, but I think that vaudeville or the burlesque stage might be where this originated. There had to be a confluence of comedian (only a metier since the late nineteenth century, I believe) and an orchestra. I have seen movies where burlesque pit bands provide percussive noises to accompany actions, such as: vamp walking = BOOM ba ba BOOM, ba ba BOOM etc; comic using little finger to clear water out of ear = rattle sound. Unfortunately, as I grow older I find my body provides it’s own odd musical accompaniment to many everyday tasks: bending over = oof! sound; straightening up after squatting alongside a fellow workers desk = crackling and snapping noises. And so on. Redboss ---
**Author:** ![Delta-9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Delta-9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delta-9)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734/5 "2001-10-11T15:05:44Z")
Did a search for “rim shots” just for yucks and all I got were pages relating to _basketball and video games._ Not a porn site in the bunch. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734/6 "2001-10-11T16:25:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Padeye \* > \*\*It’s unlikely any comedian can be credited with that. BTW it’s referred to as a “rim shot” if you decide to do any searches. \*\* Er, isn’t a ‘rim shot’ striking the rim of a snare drum, rather than the skin? In which case it has nothing to do the punchline of a joke. It’s also usually the bass drum that is used to punctuate jokes. Hence the phrase: “Boom, boom!” ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734/7 "2001-10-11T16:51:19Z")
However they do it, it’s still called a rim shot. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734/8 "2001-10-11T16:54:13Z")
Futile, just about any combination of bass, snare drum, cymbal and hi-hat can be used but you can do a perfect rimshot on a snare drum. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedians-and-the-punch-line-drumstrike/86734/9 "2001-10-11T17:26:27Z")
A rimshot in drumming is a stroke that contacts the rim of the hoop and the head simultaneously. As **Padeye** noted, a rimshot for a comedian can include other elements (bass, cymbal) as well.