Keeping with my music list theme, I have decided to make a top ten list of my favorite drummers of all time. I think I did an okay job of being diverse and having a variety of musical styles included. In most cases, a drummer is only as good as the band in front of them, but some drummers do a great job of enhancing the sound as a whole. I am not sure The Who, for example, would have ever been as big as they were without Keith Moon. Please comment and tell me who I missed or where I messed up the order.
As the drummer for The White Stripes, Meg has been keeping the steady beat for over a decade now. Their sound is simplistic by nature and her drumming suits the guitar/piano/marimba riffs that front man Jack White plays very well.
9. Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg is the drummer for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and also served as the band leader for The Max Weinberg 7 (briefly renamed Max Weinberg and the Tonight Show Band). When not touring with Springsteen, Weinberg had been seen backing up Conan O'Brien in his two NBC talk shows. Although his future with O'Brien is uncertain, he will always be remembered as the leader of one of the coolest bands in the history of late night television.
8. Ringo Starr
No matter what people say about how good of a drummer he was, Ringo makes this list because he was the drummer for the greatest band ever when they were the greatest band ever. Considered the best actor out of the four Beatles, I remember seeing him as the conductor on Thomas the Tank Engine back in the day.
7. Phil Collins
Singing and drumming at the same time is difficult to say the least, but Phil Collins made it work.
6. Dave Grohl
Before Grohl was the lead singer of The Foo Fighters, he was the drummer for Nirvana. He has been part of two of the most successful bands of the last two decades.
5. Mick Fleetwood
He is the namesake and only member of Fleetwood Mac to be a member for the band's entire existence. He has been the mainstay for decades as the dynamic band wnt through different phases and changes.
4. Questlove
With The Max Weinberg 7 currently off the air, this guy currently keeps the beat for the coolest band in late night television. The Roots have been around for since the 90s, but their gig as the in-house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has given them a whole new level of exposure, performing on national television five nights a week. Questlove is funny and makes a worthy sidekick for Fallon and the music is tight and different from any other band on TV.
3. Neil Peart
The top three are the hardest. Neil Peart is absolutely amazing as the drummer for Rush. It was really tough trying to decide between these three, but I put him at three because I did not listen to Rush in middle school and the early part of high school as much as I listened to The Who and Led Zeppelin.
2. John Bonham
Bonzo was phenomenal. He was part of a band that was firing on all cylinders with Robert Plant on vocals, Jimmy Page on guitar and John Paul Jones on bass. Bonham's drumming was icing on the cake for Led Zeppelin, but he was awesome.
1. Keith Moon
Keith Moon was the best. Ever. The Who may still be doing concerts today, but it is not the same without him. The Super Bowl halftime show made me upset because they were one of my all time favorite bands, but that was painful to watch. He was replaced by Ringo's kid and it was just never the same.
Glad to see Peart at number 3. When I saw that you were doing a list of drummers, I had to make sure you had him on there. I might have shuffled around the top three, but I agree that they all belong there (and as much as I like the Who, I prefer Rush's drumming).
ReplyDeleteThis list is agreeably diverse. Most people would consider drummers like Travis Barker or Chad Smith as their drumming inspiration. I guess it would really depend on your musical preferences how much time you have spent watching performances and such.
ReplyDelete