Gene Krupa in "Fireball""

[adorshki]

A movie on TCM this evening. 1941. Barbara Stanwyck as a torch singer fronting Gene Krupa's band. Heard it from the kitchen and thought to myself "Who's that drummer? Is that Krupa?" Had to to come out to rewind it and check the credits, sure enough, it was one of my top favorite all-time drummers. Boppin' pretty hard especially for Hollywood '41. (I repeat, 1941. Elvis didn't need to be "sold", the market was already ripe. The soundtrack to "The Man with The Golden Arm" didn't hurt, either.) Love it to death, thought I'd share. (@DrumBob, thinking of you, )



And for about the last 45 years i've been convinced that Spencer Dryden, drummer for the Airplane beginning with Surrealistic Pillow, was a big Krupa fan. It hit me one day when I realized how much the opening drum rhythm to the first tune on that album, "She Has Funny Cars" sounded like Krupa's immortal signature beat from "Sing Sing Sing".



His Wiki page indicates he'd been drumming since a kid and had jazz chops already in his early teens. The Airplane's sound became much more sophisticated with "Pillow" due not just to Grace joining, but Dryden as well, who helmed the skins until '70 for some of their finest work.

BTW, "Sing Sing Sing", "just because":



Some of those old flicks got some real gems in 'em!!

 

[wileypickett]

Ball of Fire, to give it its proper title.

Long been a fan of this movie (one of the best screwball comedies ever) and the Krupa clip is just icing on the cake!

 

[GGJaguar]

Krupa had a hard life.

 

[12 string]

From the same film,"Match Boogie"

 

[Midnight Toker]

I don't think there was a rock drummer that started playing before 64 that wasn't heavily steeped in the school of Krupa/Rich/Morello/etc. Many were essentially big band/swing/jazz drummers in a rock/psychedelic type outfit. I've also found that drummers from later generations that emulated John Bonham/Ian Paice/Ginger Baker/Keith Moon types, while they might have the chops, tend to come up short on groove and swing. If you want to learn to play like Bonham, you really have to study Krupa/Rich/Morello first....then study Zep!

 

[ReevesRd]

I always loved playing songs from the big band era. I got to see Buddy Rich when I was a kid. He could drum roll with one hand, which blew my mind. One of the best eras of music. Period.

 

[adorshki]

I don't think there was a rock drummer that started playing before 64 that wasn't heavily steeped in the school of Krupa/Rich/Morello/etc. Many were essentially big band/swing/jazz drummers in a rock/psychedelic type outfit. I've also found that drummers from later generations that emulated John Bonham/Ian Paice/Ginger Baker/Keith Moon types, while they might have the chops, tend to come up short on groove and swing. If you want to learn to play like Bonham, you really have to study Krupa/Rich/Morello first....then study Zep!

OF all those guys, liked Baker the best, I thought he could "groove" very well, especially when composing.
But I hadn't discovered Elvin Jones and Jack DeJohnette yet.

 

[ReevesRd]

When you start naming big band-era drummers, you can't leave out guys like Chick Webb, Art Blakey, and Max Roach.

 

[geoguy]

Years ago I had the pleasure of taking a jazz history class that was co-taught by Max Roach.

He wasn't much of a formal educator . . . pretty much just showed up and began telling stories about all the well-known musicians with whom he worked, back in the day. Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, and on and on.

Occasionally he would have a drum kit setup at the front of the lecture hall, or even just a snare drum, and use it to demonstrate various rhythms, etc. A very cool guy, and an interesting class.

 

[adorshki]

When you start naming big band-era drummers, you can't leave out guys like Chick Webb, Art Blakey, and Max Roach.

AH yess... Blakey and Roach..Don't recognize Webb?

Checked his Wiki page. Thanks for the heads-up. I love tracking history backwards when it comes to music.

 

[adorshki]

Ball of Fire, to give it its proper title.

Long been a fan of this movie (one of the best screwball comedies ever) and the Krupa clip is just icing on the cake!

Thanks, yeah 'Ball of Fire' just like it says on the videoclip. Durn tunnel-vision gets really bad when I got beer in me.

 

[adorshki]

Meanwhile, in1967, somebody dosed the 101 strings with a little too much brown acid:


Sounds like the same guys who did all of Roger Corman's AIP soundtracks in the '60's.
Would go great on a Big Mac, "with cheese".

Hard to believe they could top that, but sure enough:


My biggest fear has suddenly become to get trapped in an elevator with the 101 Strings on auto-repeat.

 

[Rocky]

I like how the guitarist uses hammer-ons to keep his/herself from falling asleep.

 

[Guildedagain]

Dude, are movies from back then better or what?

Wow.

And in equal fashion, vintage drums are so beautiful, nothing modern compares.

The Funny Car song, never heard it that I can remember, the drum intro/repeat and fuzz are the two things that stand out, besides a solo at the end and Grace's seriously proto Kurt C. type lyrics. Is anything ever new?

 

[Rocky]

The Funny Car song, never heard it that I can remember, the drum intro/repeat and fuzz are the two things that stand out

And the reverb. The whole album is drenched in glorious reverb.

I always thought Spencer's part on that was a slowed, mutated Bo Diddley beat.

 

[Guildedagain]

liked Baker the best

Mitchell for me, the jazziest of all.

 

[HeyMikey]

I always loved playing songs from the big band era. I got to see Buddy Rich when I was a kid. He could drum roll with one hand, which blew my mind. One of the best eras of music. Period.

I saw him too as a kid and distinctly remember being blown away with his one-handed riffs.

 

[Teleguy61]

Charlie Watts was a pretty damn good swing drummer too.

 

[adorshki]

Dude, are movies from back then better or what?

Wow.

And in equal fashion, vintage drums are so beautiful, nothing modern compares.

The Funny Car song, never heard it that I can remember, the drum intro/repeat and fuzz are the two things that stand out, besides a solo at the end and Grace's seriously proto Kurt C. type lyrics. Is anything ever new?

Jorma played a Thunderbird on the album.

And the reverb. The whole album is drenched in glorious reverb.

Which Grace absolutely hated since it was all added in post-production. She thought it didn't sound like the band anymore. I admit for a long time I much preferred the production on After Bathing At Baxter's, the follow-up, which they had much more hand in producing.

I like "Pillow" more now than I ever did as a kid.

 

[Guildedagain]

I like "Pillow" more now than I ever did as a kid.

Beats thinking of the future, doesn't it?