The American Drummer

Continuing with the top four rock bands’ drummers, we shall now look at the American representatives.  The Doors had John Densmore.  A very good drummer with a jazz rock blend influence.  He could keep time perfectly while Jim Morrison would wild up the crowd, stopping his singing just to yell and insult the throng of people that came to watch the Doors perform live.  That was a classic trademark that Densmore could do.  Creedence Clearwater Revival had Doug “Cosmo” Clifford.  A really great blues and R&B drummer that could play the kit hard.  Nothing too outstanding with his skill to do drum-rolls, however he could keep a steady rock beat better than a metronome could.  C.C.R.’s best album incorporates his nick name in the title Cosmo’s Factory.  The Grateful Dead had a very unique situation on the drums that all other bands didn’t, they had two of them.  Bill Kreutzmann was the first drummer the Dead ever had.  He not only was one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead along with Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Jerry Garcia; he also was one of the four members to have played in all 2,300 live shows in their career.  Two years after the band had formed Mickey Hart joined the band as their second drummer.  Together Kreutzmann and Hart were refered to as “the rhythm devils”, the strong back-bone to the Greatful Dead.  Lastly we have the brothers band, the Beach Boys, and needless to say a brother played the drums.  Dennis Wilson, the middle Wilson brother of the Beach Boys, played the drums because Carl picked up the guitar, and older brother Brian picked up the bass guitar when the formed the group as teenagers.  The only thing left was either piano, which he couldn’t play, or the drums.  Dennis Wilson helped invent the surf-rock sound, with his fast rolls and tight tom work, all set to a really fast pace.  Dennis had a very strange house guest stay at his house for a period of time in the sixties.  He didn’t think much of it, he just thought he was a struggling songwriter trying to make it in the music business.  What he didn’t know was that house guest was the very f&*@ up man Charles Manson, the psychopathic loser who committed unforgivable murders.   Sadly Dennis died in a drowning accident in 1983, which lead to the beginning of the end of the brothers Wilson. 

All in all the American drummers had enough skill to keep their bands rocking for many years.  Laying down the beats to countless great American rock songs.  Though many of them have interesting stories, these four bands from America weren’t really known for their drummers.  In the next few posts we will see what sets them apart from their British counterparts. 

So there you have it, I belive it quite clear who wins the battle between drumming supremacy.  Next we will look at the bass guitar, the righteous vibe that keeps a rock band grooving.

Advertisement