Ten Legendary Rock Drummers
From Yahoo.com:
Ten Legendary Rock Drummers
Posted Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:13pm PST by Rob O’Connor in List Of The Day
Mitch Mitchell, the last surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, has exited stage left, right or wherever. Just received the news and no determination of death has been made. However, he was only 61. Which is ancient in rock years, but to normal people would be considered quite young. The rock world is often not kind to its participants.
But immediately it made me think about legendary rock drummers. These days most drummers keep time. They play to “click tracks” in the studio and nothing much really happens. But there was a time when the drummer seemed to lead the band. And leading a band when you’ve got Jimi Hendrix on guitar is a pretty hefty assignment.
The following 10 are the ones who quickly came to mind. Like a speed round without second guessing, I made this list (damn left off Ginger Baker and John Densmore). And the list could not include R&B drummers, otherwise Al Jackson and a very different list would occur. It couldn’t include guys who were mostly session guys–so Steve Gadd and Jim Keltner were nixed. And they really had to be folks where the band wouldn’t be the same without them–and in the case of the Who aren’t.
They’re not even necessarily the “best” drummers, though I’d argue that greatness is not technically facility but being the right person for the job.
Here are my 10 (which means I left out at least 30 great possibles). Fire away!
10) Neil Peart–Rush
9) Bill Bruford–Yes, King Crimson
8 ) Bill Ward–Black Sabbath
7) Alex Van Halen–Van Halen: If you listen to the Fair Warning album, for starters, you’ll hear a rhythm section that is miles ahead of the hard rock-heavy metal competition. Alex is the closest hard rock has ever come to an R&B drummer, playing behind the beat, ahead of the beat and sometime on top of it. Controlled chaos or pure chaos? In either case, another guy with too many actual drums on stage. But what did he care? He let the roadies carry them.
6) Maureen Tucker–The Velvet Underground
5) Ringo Starr–The Beatles
4) Charlie Watts–The Rolling Stones
3) John Bonham–Led Zeppelin
2) Mitch Mitchell–Jimi Hendrix Experience
1) Keith Moon–The Who
Filed under: Alex Van Halen
Leave a comment
trackback • RSS 2.0
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Don Henley should be in the top ten
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Who makes these lists?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Neil at 10?!?!?! It should’ve been 1)John Bonham, 2)Keith Moon AND THEN 3)Neil Peart and then 4)Alex Van Halen. I mean Ringo at 5?!?! He shouldn’t even been ON the list!!!! And another kicker, Charlie Watts at #4, WHAT?!?!?!?!?! And what the HELL is Maureen Tucker doing on this lists!! And Bill Ward? Come on!! That’s why I HATE these lists. This list was almost as bad as Rolling Stones top 100 guitarists.
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I agree, this is a terrible list. I would have to put Neil Peart at #1 and Bonham #2
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Peart is the best rock drummer I have ever seen .His drum solo is worth the price of admission by itself.The top three are all no longer with us, the other six still play, even Ringo(?). And Alex sits in his brothers house doing God knows what. Hey…..how’s that DVD of the almost reunion tour coming along.
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I think it’d be cool if VHND would run an online voting poll that would get forwared to VH of what the fans want most like which singer, bass player, new cd, tour again, live dvd, etc.
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Alex at #7 and Charlie Watts at #4 ??…
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Neil Peart #10? You have got to be fucking kidding me? Alex VH #7 is a joke in itself. These two drummers play circles around both Charlie Watts (whom I love dearly) and Ringo Starr….what a pathetic excuse for a top ten suck my ass list.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Tim Stone you are right on pal. Peart is the best drummer today, hands down.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:19 pm
And if it is just a list of 10 legendary drummers, they why the numbers….list are for insecure people at sorry magazines like Rolling Stone and for beat writers that masturbate twice a day.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Well, I’m a drummer and you’ve got some great drummers on your list. I can also assure you that Alex Van Halen would never be considered a top-10 drummer by any musician or drummer… And I happen to love the guy except on 5150 when he used those ridiculous electric drums. That act alone disqualifies him from any list.
Ringo Star is not a good drummer but he is respected for his minimalist approach. Same goes for Charlie Watts. They were in great bands but that doesnt mean they get automatic admittance onto any Top-Rock drummer list.
Neal Peart is No.1 PERIOD
Stewart Copeland of the Police is fantastic
Carter Beauford, Dave Matthews Band (don’t care for the bands music, but he alone would have me buying a ticket)
The above three can play any genre of music, keep impeccable time and are extremely gifted when it comes to their creativity behind a drum kit.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:31 am
I know that there are some great drummers on this list & being a drummer I know that the hardest & most difficult thing that Alex ever played was “Human Beings”. I know this man is not always on these lists but deserves to be on this list is Phil Collins.
December 4th, 2008 at 5:18 am
WHere is Tommy Lee ???
December 4th, 2008 at 7:16 am
A little confused at the list.You really cant say who’s better and who’s not.Has anyone ever seen Thomas Lang? Technically brilliant,probably the best.I saw the Police this year,Copeland is awesome.Mike Portnoy springs to mind.Mike Mangini,Jimmy Degrasso,just to name a few.As far as rock bands go,Tommy Lee is a good rock drummer,Jason Bonham is also very good.Alex VH is a GREAT rock drummer,real solid,but John Bonham does it for me.Lets just enjoy all these great drummers and the music.Its not a competition.
December 4th, 2008 at 7:21 am
What about Rick Allen (Def Leppard)…it doesn’t get much better than a one armed drummer who is still kick-ass nasty.
December 4th, 2008 at 7:21 am
List list is B.S. I agree that Carter Bueford should be on this list. Tommy Lee, Dave Lombardo from Slayer,ect. Where in the hell is Lars!?!?!?! And Niel Peart should be number 1, Alex number 2, Bohnam 3. Kieth Moon should still be top 5. I’ll even leave Ringo in the top 10. He was the first drummer to do something other than just keep a beat. First to play off time,ect. Plus, look at the kit he was playing on.
December 4th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Bonzo #1. Period.
December 4th, 2008 at 9:15 am
There is one guy missing from this list in my mind and that is Stuart Copeland.
December 4th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Cajun Mike above hit the nail on the head. No one is better than Neil Peart. He is unreal. I could watch a 2 hour concert of just him. Too bad Geddy Lee’s voice is so unlistenable, otherwise I’d be a huge Rush fan.
Carter Beauford is very good also, as is Stewart Copeland.
Funny, I was going to say the exact same thing as Cajun Mike did, he beat me to it.
Anyone who thinks Ringo Starr is anything more than decent hasn’t seen enough drummers to make a judgement. He;s not terrible, just not great, certainly doesn’t belong in the top 100, much less top 10.
I’m a drummer too, and I’m probably about number 1 million on that list
Again, no one, and I mean NO ONE, is better than Neil Peart.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:27 am
I’m tired of people hating on Ringo. I love Alex as much as the next guy, but Ringo is classic. Day in the Life? Rain? Strawberry Fields? Alex couldn’t do that feel. Ringo couldn’t play Mean Streets (I don’t think he even played I Feel Fine), but Ringo is definitely top ten. You can recognize his playing. He makes the drums sound like Ringo. All this Ringo hating and no one has even questioned Maureen Tucker. Strange.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:54 am
If you’re gonna put Ringo Starr in the top ten, why not Mick Fleetwood as well? He can keep a beat too…
Seriously though, I agree with several of the names on the list, namely KEITH MOON, JOHN BONHAM, and NEIL PEART, and for me it’s a three-way tie between them for first place.
Personal taste is a trait that simply cannot be measured acurately and most drummers have a distinctive style. But it appears to me that no one has listened to AC/DC’s “Back in Black” album in quite some time. Although his performance on “Black Ice” was a little stale, I would definitely have to put PHIL RUDD somewhere in the top ten.
I would also submit the following drummers as possible top tenners… JOHN TEMPESTA, TOMMY LEE, LARS ULRICH and RANDY CASTILLO. I’m sure I could come up with more, given more time to think about it.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:56 am
I wonder why noone mentioned Ian Paice (DP)???
December 4th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
These lists are just some guy’s opinion. You have yours, they have theirs. But in the end, no one can ever agree rendering these dumb lists pointless.
December 4th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I’m not a big fan of competitions or rating players, but I do understand this list (although I do not agree on the order.) It sounds like some of you didn’t read the entire article. The guy had certain qualifications for a drummer to be considered. That’s why Carter Beauford (wrong genre) and a few others were not on the list. Again, he was trying to list those that were most influential to their respected bands and if you would have plugged another drummer in at their respective periods, the end result would have been drastically different. That is why you see Watts and Ringo make the list even though they’re not very technical. That being said…Bonham, Moon, and Peart should be in the top 3. I’m not a Rush fan, but there really wasn’t anybody like Peart at that time that you could have put on that drum throne. I’m not a Moon fan either, but nobody touched his energy and the Who thrived on it. Alex should definitely be on the list, but not in the top five. To me, he is one of the last drummers of the Bonham/Moon type. Copeland should also be a definite, probably top five. I think Phil Collins is a great choice as well. By the way Jason, “Humans Being” is not even close to one of Alex’s toughest song. There is 2 drum tracks on that song, one of them being Eddie’s.
December 4th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
What about Pete Thomas?
December 4th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
great…..all we need …a bunch of frustrated drummers….Joke: how many musicians are in a 4 piece band/? Answer: Three…..and then there’s the drummer.
December 4th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
1. Peart-Rush
2. Bonham-Zep
3. Ginger Baker-Cream
4. Stewart Copeland-Cops
5. Keith Moon-Me
6. Alex Van Halen-VH
7. Bill Bruford-Yes
8. Carl Palmer-ELP
9. Ringo Starr- The Bugs
10.Steve Smith-Journey
December 4th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
There are a lot of excellent drummers that people are mentioning here. But I did not see the name of probably the best drummer on the planet right now. Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater. He has been around since the mid 80’s so I think that would classify him as legendary. Dont get me wrong, I am a huge VH fan. Have been from day one, but Portnoy can and does play circles around Alex and the rest of the top 10.
December 4th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Alex Van Halen is 1 and is 2 moon.no Ringo Starr and Rush3
December 4th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Sorry Greg…
Portnoy is not among the Elite.
76 maybe.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I think it’d be cool if VHND would run an online voting poll too
December 5th, 2008 at 7:06 am
you see I agree that Peart NEDDS tobe at #1 but I was just putting the pioneers first that’s all.
December 5th, 2008 at 7:07 am
Even though Peart is a pioneer also.
December 5th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Peart does have the Drum Solo of Life….ATHF Movie reference, anyone? Ah…..never mind! Anyone see Family Guy when they had Chester Cheetah bump a huge line of crushed cheetos and then exclaim “NEIL PEART IS THE GREATEST F***ING DRUMMER ON THE PLANET!” or something like that….it was funny as hell. I still say Bonham is the greatest. In My Time of Dying is just incredible. It may or may not be very difficult, (I’m no drummer) but It’s my favortite Zep Tune and everything from the slide guitar to the drums gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.
December 5th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Definitely a toss up between Peart and Bonham. They are the two best no doubt but don’t forget about Buddy Rich. He is the guy that inspired all these guys. And check out Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden! The guy can flat out play!!
December 5th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Whatever Drummer or any other musician that inspires you to sit down and tap into that CREATIVE place is #1.That being said for me personally MANY THANKS TO ALEX VAN HALEN and ALL members past and present in VAN HALEN!!!!!
December 5th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
No drummer list is complete without Carmine Appice.
December 6th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Right on Big Al. Couldn’t agree more.
December 6th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Wait, wait, wait, wait…..”Keith Moon-Me”? Ummmm…Keith? Is that you?
December 6th, 2008 at 11:02 am
STEWART COPELAND, heard of him?
December 6th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Peter Criss
December 7th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Lots of people here need an education. Peart used electronic drums in concert around the mid-80s. Quit bashing Alex! He is one of the greatest as well. He never gets the pub like his brother. Ringo started holding the sticks(matchsticks) differently then the great Jazz drummers, indeed he was not so flashy, but he was great. So many great drummers. There is so many great styles even pertaining to ROCK. Not really a greatest! Its about who you like.
December 8th, 2008 at 4:07 am
Alex is like Bruce Lee.
He’s gotta be ripped to play like that.
Merry Christmas!
December 8th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
You’ve got to be joking that Ringo and Charlie Watts are higher than Neil Peart.
Also, Bonham is better than Keith Moon. Keith’s playing is all fills. Bonham is a far more powerful rock drummer.
Stewart Copeland is better than Ringo and Charlie Watts.
December 9th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Who the hell is Maureen Tucker? Neil Peart is by far the best living rock drummer. PERIOD. Did someone forget to mention Carl Palmer from ELP?
December 9th, 2008 at 11:57 am
I’m with the responders that question the inclusion of Ringo and Charlie on this list. To me, truly great drummers they are not. I feel that they simply were in great bands. No doubt cutting edge at the time, but greatest of all time? Ringo was still learning and being taught the craft when he joined the Beatles.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Heck, if Watts and Starr can make the list, how in the hell did someone like Phil Rudd get left off?
January 9th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
I can’t believe this is a Van Halen website and there is actually Alex bashing. On this site Alex is the best. I play drums and I understand all these peoples debate but as far as drum intros Hot for Teacher is the best intro ever.Alex may not be the best but nothing will ever hit your ear drums like that song and make you wanna go bang a set of drums!!!!!
February 20th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
As a drummer of 20 years, I’ve gotta ask…..
Watts and Starr????
If playing nothing but a 4/4 beat is all that counts as drumming…..
Might as well award one to AC/DC’s drummer too!
How did the creator of this list forget Lars Ulrich and Tommy Lee?
It’s a list of rock drummers, so along with Alex, why not include the two of the three best technical rock drummers of all time (IMO)??
My Top 5 would have been;
1. Tommy Lee (without question!!)
2. Alex Van Halen
3. Lars Ulrich (not far behind Alex)
4. Neil Peart (and I hate Rush)
5. Peter Criss
Bonham, Moon, Appice, etc could fill out the last 5, but certainly didn’t play with enough originality make a top “rock drummer” list.
Allen from Def Leppard deserves kudos for coming back after his accident, but leave it at that.
It’s like giving an Oscar to Heath Ledger because he died.
If you’re going to award something, do it because he deserves it, not out of pity.
March 18th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Glad Alex was featured but Neil Peart owns Alex Van Halen.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:14 am
Phil Rudd of AC/DC should be in the top 5. Alex is WAY overrated in my opinion, and his sound on record is crap. Bill Ward? Pleeeeeeeeeeease. And Keith Moon at number 1? He was way too busy of a drummer, which is usually indicitive of not being a great time keeper. This list sucks ass….
May 7th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Alex deserves a higher spot
I’m also sick of reading that Jimi Hendrix, and guys from his band are rating higher then musicians that are actually better then them.
September 13th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
My top 10 Drummer list:
1 Neil Peart (Rush)
2 Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater)
3 Buddy Rich
4 John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham (Led Zeppelin)
5 Steve Gadd (Eddie Gomez)
6 Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa)
7 Vinnie Colaiuda (Frank Zappa)
8 Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden)
9 Dave Lombardo (Slayer)
10 Vinnie Paul (Pantara)
October 28th, 2009 at 6:20 am
It astounds me that some people truly believe Lars Ulrich is a great drummer. The only list I can envision him on is one picking the worst rock drummers of all time. Anyone who has ever played the drums seriously knows that guy is garbage. You can put Tommy Lee on that list too. Two guys with little ability hiding behind their double bass pedals. Those two clowns shouldn’t be mentioned anywhere near the likes of John Bonham and Neil Peart.